


Tangents and Parallels

by Cyelle



Series: Twisting Reality [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Collection of short stories, Dimension Travel, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Pranks, Prompts and ideas, chapters will be pretty random and may or may not be related
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:20:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27634679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyelle/pseuds/Cyelle
Summary: A series of short stories based on the Twisting Reality universes.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uchiha Itachi, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uchiha Shisui, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Shisui/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Twisting Reality [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921555
Comments: 191
Kudos: 401





	1. Kumo trips up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A different take on the Hyuuga arc from Twisting Reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Wordsmyth's [comment](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23836918/comments/309647161) on chapter 6 of Twisting Reality.
> 
> _“Jinchuuriki talking in mindscape”_  
>  ** _“Bijuu talking in mindscape”_**  
>  ** _'Bijuu's thoughts'_**  
>  “Normal speech”  
>  _‘Thoughts’_

Two figures darted through the trees, taking advantage of the lack of moonlight and the shadows of the forest to hide themselves. Hiroto used his sensory abilities to help them stay out of sight of any Konoha patrol; getting caught so early in their operation might prove fatal.

“One hundred meters straight,” Gou murmured next to him, eyes trained on the distance. They had approximately twenty minutes before their rendezvous with their leader, which they absolutely could not afford to miss.

Soon the trees thinned out, giving way to the huge grounds where their target lived. “Such a large place for one girl,” Hiroto scoffed, searching for any chakra signatures that would indicate guards. To his surprise, he found none.

Not even the Uzumaki the two Kumo nin had come for.

He tensed, “Something’s wrong, Gou. I don’t sense anyone.”

“So? Isn’t that good for us?”

Hiroto shook his head, hand slipping into his weapons pouch to wrap around a kunai. “According to our informant, the Uzumaki has decent chakra reserves. I _should_ be able to sense her.”

“Think she’s not here then?” Gou asked quietly, glancing at the house in the distance. Now that he understood what his partner was saying, he also found it strange. There were lights on in one room of the house and a dark silhouette occasionally crossing the window told them that there was at least one occupant.

“It’s probably a barrier,” Hiroto said triumphantly, struck by a sudden revelation. “We should see if we can take it down. I doubt it’d be anything complicated.”

Gou agreed and the two crept closer to the house, staying just within the tree line.

Suddenly, the front door opened, spilling golden light out on the grass. A person -an adult, based on their stature- stepped out, followed by an animal of some kind. The door closed behind them, shrouding the duo in darkness.

The hidden Kumo nin tensed; they could still see the silhouette assumed to belong to the Uzumaki girl in one of the rooms.

So who was outside?

And were there more people inside the house?

Hiroto glanced at his companion, quietly asking, “What do we do now, Gou? I can’t tell if that person is a shinobi or not.”

“…let’s go around the perimeter,” the other man replied after a few seconds. Unpredictable factors had been thrown into the situation and it was too dangerous to engage without decent information. “Let’s see if there are more people around.”

“Right.”

Only instincts honed on the battlefield saved the two nin from becoming pincushions, the sensor detecting the hail of shuriken at the last second and pulling his partner and himself to safety. Unfortunately for the pair, the projectiles covered a large range and prevented the Kumo nin from retreating back into the trees.

Hiroto and Gou had no choice but to jump into the clearing, where they were well out in the open. “Damn it!” the sensor hissed, stumbling as one of the shuriken pierced his foot. He sank onto a knee to avoid putting weight on his injured leg and tugged out the weapon, dismissing the injury as minor.

“Looks like we have no choice but to fight, huh? So much for a stealth mission.”

Gou grunted in reply, covering the other man’s back as his eyes swept over the clearing. The two who had emerged from the house were still where he saw them last, so that meant…

“There’s at least one person in the trees. Stay sharp, Hiroto!”

“Nah, your partner’s out for the count. Isn’t that right, Kuromaru?”

“Hmph. Is this all Kumo can do? Weaklings.”

Gou bristled at the obvious taunts but bit back any retort, instead raising his kunai to intercept possible attacks. The drifting clouds allowed slivers of moonlight to illuminate the clearing, enough for him to stiffen as he recognized the pair in front of him.

“Inuzuka,” he growled, shifting his stance into a defensive one. The woman and her ninken were known to be powerful brawlers; they were _not_ to be underestimated, especially not on their home turf. “This just got messy.”

“Yeah, and you’re in for worse,” Tsume agreed, a sharp and feral grin curving her lips. “Oi, Shibi! Tell Hiashi that he has missing _‘guests’_ yet?!”

“My kikaichu have passed on the message.”

A calm, male voice spoke in reply to her, Shibi stepping out from the shadows of the trees, clad in the bulky overcoat customary of the Aburame. “He will apprehend their leader.”

 _‘We’re screwed,’_ Gou cursed; of all the people they had to encounter, it had to be two of the clan heads. He inched back, whispering to his partner, “Hiroto, we’re aborting the mission. We can’t let Konoha catch us.”

No response.

“Oi, Hiroto!”

There was still no response.

Alarm bells rang in the back of the man’s head and he chanced a look over his shoulder. Hiroto had collapsed face first into the grass; he twitched at random intervals but it didn’t seem like he had any control of his body.

“There is no cause for alarm,” Shibi said in his usual inflectionless voice, walking towards the two Kumo nin. “It is only a paralytic poison.”

The Aburame paused, tilting his head at the cornered men. “I see Kumo has no honor, disrespecting the treaty within less than a day of its signing.”

“I’ll show you honor!”

Gou pounced with a vicious snarl, slashing his kunai at the infuriatingly calm Aburame. The attack would have disemboweled the man had Shibi not hopped back, in a seemingly careless manner.

“One should never show their back to a known opponent.”

A foot slamming into his back knocked the breath out of Gou and he stumbled forward, trying to regain his balance. Another kick to sweep his legs from under him followed by a swift punch to his head brought the Kumo nin down, dazed but still conscious.

“Why you-!”

“Stay down,” Kuromaru cut him off a threatening growl, forcing the man down with his body weight. The ninken bared his teeth at Gou, snarling when he tried to move.

Tsume came over to stand next to her partner, smirking down at the glaring Kumo nin. “You really should have done your homework if you wanted to take us down on our turf, bastards.”

“Raikage-sama will not stand for this!”

“You think he has a leg to stand on?” the woman rolled her eyes, slamming a sandaled foot on Gou’s stomach and effectively rendering him unconscious. “Idiots. They sure are underestimating us.”

Shibi nodded, kneeling to check if the poisoned Kumo nin was conscious. Fortunately for Hiroto, he was out like a light. “I believe Uzumaki Hikari-san was their target,” he theorized, straightening and looking the Inuzuka in the eye. “There is no other reason for them to be so far out in the village.”

“Who cares?” Tsume scoffed, kicking the unconscious men none too kindly. “Anyone who dares to touch any of our pups is in for the beating of a lifetime.”

At the moment, Hikari and Naruto weren’t the only kids in the house behind them. Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, Shino and Kiba were having a sleepover with the Uzumaki, Shibi and Tsume having volunteered for babysitting and guard duty. It had been the redhead who had noticed the intruders and promptly warned the adults, allowing them the chance to set a trap for the Kumo nin.

The Inuzuka woman shook her head and grabbed one of the men’s legs, proceeding to drag him away as Kuromaru followed with the other. “Keep an eye on the brats, Shibi!” she called over her shoulder. “I’m taking the trash to T&I!”

If the Kumo nin had their heads bounced on every cobblestone on the paths or slammed against walls on their way to the hellhole that was T&I, well.

Tsume wasn’t quite so devious to have planned it, after all.

Just an innocent mistake.

On the other side of the village, in a room devoid of its original occupant, Hiashi raised an eyebrow at the collapsed form of Kumo’s Head Shinobi.

Although awake and aware, he had all his tenketsu closed and body paralyzed.

That’s what he got for underestimating the Hyuuga clan head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Hikari to herself, surrounded by a cuddle pile of toddlers, as she senses the Kumo nin being dragged away_ : There goes the trash. Ohh, that's got to **hurt**.
> 
> Posted: 18/09/2020
> 
> Reposted: 19/11/2020


	2. Shock and a lovely surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gai, Asuma and Kurenai notice that something's up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place sometime during the time-skip in [chapter 15 of Twisting Reality.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23836918/chapters/66935581)
> 
> _“Jinchuuriki talking in mindscape”_  
>  ** _“Bijuu talking in mindscape”_**  
>  ** _'Bijuu's thoughts'_**  
>  “Normal speech”  
>  _‘Thoughts’_

“HAS ANYONE SEEN MY ETERNAL RIVAL?!”

All of the occupants of the Jounin Standby Station sighed and in unison, turned their heads in the direction of the door where a man clad in green spandex was standing.

“No,” one man replied, sprawled out on a couch in one of the corners of the room. “Hatake hasn’t been around here for days.”

Gai deflated at the answer but nodded in thanks, losing some of his boisterous cheer.

“Is something wrong, Gai?” Kurenai asked as she walked over to the other Jounin, Asuma in tow. Unlike the rest of the Jounin, they had noticed the undercurrent of worry in Gai’s voice, hidden deep under layers of his usual exuberance.

Gesturing for the duo to follow him, Gai stepped out of the room, shoulders stiff and tense under his flak jacket. Kurenai and Asuma exchanged concerned glances, swiftly following the other man. “Oi, Gai; what’s going on?” the Sarutobi asked, putting out his cigarette.

It was normal for Maito Gai to hunt Kakashi down for one of his ridiculous challenges but he always hid his worry for the Hatake well. To see him almost visibly tense was rather alarming.

“Kurenai, Asuma, have either of you seen Kakashi around lately?”

“Of course I ha…ve…,” the Genjutsu mistress trailed off, crimson eyes widening when she realized that she _hadn’t_ seen the ANBU for at least a few days. “No…I actually haven’t.”

“Me neither,” Asuma added, mouth twisted in a displeased frown. “Is he taking on too many missions again?”

Gai shrugged, his worry now clear on his expressive face. “I don’t know,” he almost wailed, shoulders slumping as a dark cloud formed above his head. “Since Kakashi only takes ANBU missions, I can’t even check the roster.”

“Have you checked at his apartment?” Kurenai suggested, growing increasingly worried for their friend. There had been a time when the Hatake had done nothing but missions back-to-back, eventually collapsing from blood loss and exhaustion. The Sandaime had stepped in at that point, forcing him to rest but Kakashi had gone straight back to work the instant he had recovered.

None of them wanted to see Kakashi in that state again.

“I didn’t think of that! A fine suggestion, Kurenai! I shall correct my oversight right away!”

With that, the taijutsu expert sprinted off, leaving a bemused Kurenai and Asuma in his wake. Asuma scratched his beard, tossing his cigarette away as he came to a decision.

“Hold up, Gai! I’m coming too!”

“And me.”

* * *

The three Jounin stared at the elderly woman in front of them, jaws gaping open in shock. Asuma recovered first, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Can you repeat that, ma’am? Did you say that Kakashi _cancelled his lease and left_?”

“Yes,” the civilian woman snapped, fresh out of patience for the trio of shinobi that had barged into her quarters with no warning. “That boy hardly ever stayed in there anyway. Now, unless you have business with me, get out!”

“We’re sorry for the trouble, ma’am; have a good day,” Kurenai apologized to the irritated civilian, bowing to her once before ushering the men out of the apartment complex. “What do we do now?”

“I have no idea,” Asuma replied, scratching his beard in thought. All of them knew that Kakashi was emotionally unstable, what with all the tragedy in his life. But him moving out without a word was alarming on so many levels.

“If Kakashi has moved to the ANBU dorms, the situation is worse than we thought,” Gai added, countenance grim as the corners of his mouth turned downwards in an unhappy frown.

“Maybe we could ask around? There’s a chance that someone might have seen him sometime.”

“Hmm…let’s go ask my old man,” Asuma proposed after a short pause. He knew that the Sandaime was keeping tabs on Kakashi for the sake of his successor; he might have some answers.

“A YOUTHFUL IDEA!” Gai beamed, having regained some of his usual vigor at another possible way to track their wayward friend. “Let us go see Hokage-sama immediately!”

Kurenai and Asuma nodded, the three of them setting off towards the Hokage Tower. Fortunately for them, the Sandaime wasn’t in any meetings at the moment, so they got to see him without any trouble.

“Ah, Asuma, Kurenai-chan, Gai-kun,” Hiruzen greeted warmly, pipe in one hand as he set down a paper he had been reading. “What can I do for you?”

Before Gai could go into one of his _‘youthful’_ tirades, Asuma spoke, serious eyes fixed on his father. “Did you know that Kakashi moved out of his apartment?”

That made the elder Sarutobi raise an eyebrow; he certainly had _not_ known. “No,” he replied, brow furrowed in confusion. The last Hatake had not given any indication that he had planned something quite so serious. “I wasn’t aware of it.”

“And he isn’t in the ANBU dorms?”

“I would have been notified if that was the case.”

“I see…”

The trio exchanged worried glances, not knowing what to do since even the Hokage didn’t know what had happened. It seemed that they had no choice but to search for Kakashi everywhere in the village.

“Thanks, Dad. I suppose we’ll look for him then.”

“Might I ask why you’re searching for him?”

“We have not seen my rival in a long time, Hokage-sama,” Gai replied this time, tone somber. He was beating himself up inwardly for not paying attention to his friend. “I fear that something may have happened to him. Because the last time…”

All of the occupants of the room winced, clearly recalling the terrible state the Hatake had driven himself to in an attempt to not _feel_.

“Ah,” Hiruzen murmured to himself before shaking his head and looking at his son. “I can, however, assure you that Kakashi-kun isn’t heading that way at this moment.”

Asuma looked skeptical. “You sure?”

“Of course. I have no answer for you on the matter of his moving out, but I do know that his mental state has been stable for quite some time. Kakashi-kun hasn’t gone on a lot of dangerous solo missions lately.”

That was a surprise, making Gai’s jaw drop while Kurenai and Asuma blinked in shock.

_Nothing_ had deterred the Hatake from going on tons of suicide missions, no matter who had to beg and/or manipulate him.

“Oh…” Kurenai snapped out of her state of stupor, eyeing the serene Hokage curiously. “I suppose you wouldn’t know where we could find him now, Hokage-sama?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

* * *

“This is the place?”

Gai peered at the fairly large house he could see through the trees, situated on the edge of a huge clearing. He hadn’t even been aware that the place existed; it was located near the old training grounds that no one used anymore since it was somewhat far from the central part of the village.

“Yeah,” Kurenai said in response, ruby red eyes narrowed as she studied the air in front of them. As a Genjutsu mistress, she was sensitive to chakra and could feel the faint pulse of chakra from a barrier. _‘I suppose this is the barrier Hokage-sama warned us of.’_

She didn’t know if the three of them would be able to cross it, but considering that all they wanted was answers, it should be fine, right?

“Let’s go; we’re not going to accomplish anything just standing around,” Asuma finally said after no one made a move for almost five minutes, striding towards the house with resolute steps.

Thankfully for them, they crossed the barrier with no issues, making them sigh in relief. But that passed in an instant, once again undecided about actually knocking on the door. None of them had met the Uzumaki yet, but the little they knew told them that she was extremely protective over those she cared about.

Mix in her skills in Fuuinjutsu and there was an unholy combination.

“Seriously, aren’t visitors supposed to knock instead of standing around like dummies?”

The three Jounin startled at the sudden voice, spinning around to look at the speaker. None of them had sensed anyone, which made it all the more alarming.

A young girl, about seven to eight years old, stood a few feet away from them, hands on her hips as she raised an eyebrow at the trio in question. “Well?”

“Uh…Uzumaki Hikari-san?”

“That’s me,” the redhead confirmed Gai’s hesitant query, eyebrow still raised. “Just Hikari is fine, Maito Gai-san, Sarutobi Asuma-san, Yuuhi Kurenai-san.”

It was Asuma’s turn to raise an eyebrow in question. “You know us?”

“Kind of,” Hikari replied in an absent tone, slipping past the Jounin and opening the door. “Come on in; I think I know why you’re here.”

Kurenai looked at the two men then proceeded to follow the girl, removing her sandals. She was rather curious about the girl who looked completely unconcerned about having three strangers in her home, but she was more desperate for answers about their missing friend than satisfying her curiosity.

“Up the stairs and first door on the left,” Hikari called to them from the doorway to the kitchen, a mischievous and knowing glint in her bright blue eyes. “You’re shinobi, so I don’t need to tell you to be quiet but I’ll still say it. Naruto and Karin are taking a nap right now and should _any_ of you wake them up, there’ll be hell to pay.”

That declaration earned her three blank stares to which Hikari only smirked at and ducked into the kitchen.

“I don’t want to find out if she was serious,” Asuma mumbled after picking his jaw up from the floor. He moved towards the stairs, taking extra care to be cautious. For some reason, he was certain that the midget would follow through on her threat.

Once on the second floor, he immediately turned to the left to look for the room Hikari had indicated, only to find that the door was open and the person they were searching for standing there with one hand on the door knob.

“Kakashi?!”

The whispered exclamation caught Gai’s attention and he opened his mouth, “MY ET- mph!”

“Quiet!” Kurenai hissed, slapping one hand over the man’s mouth in a bid to silence him. “You were warned.”

“Hikari threatened you?” Kakashi asked drily, gesturing for the trio to enter the room he was in. He shut the door behind them, activating the privacy seals in case Gai got carried away again.

“Yep. For a midget, she sure is scary.”

The silver-haired teen shrugged, not really worried. She had yet to follow up on her threats anyway but he wasn’t going to tell the others that. It was fun to watch them cower in front of a kid.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“Hokage-sama said we could find you here…” Kurenai trailed off, discretely taking in the room. The walls were painted a silvery gray, with a few shelves that held an assortment of scrolls and books. To her left, there was a large desk and a chair to go with it, the most noteworthy item on it being the photo of Kakashi’s old team. There was a decent sized bed on the other side of the room, with comfortable looking blankets on it.

Even a wardrobe was available, one of the doors open enough to tell Kurenai that it was filled with clothes. The windows were open, curtains tied at the side, which was a tell-tale sign. No shinobi ever felt safe enough to keep their windows open, especially large windows.

But above all that, the room felt _lived in_.

Kakashi’s old apartment had never felt like that; it had been cold and impersonal, with little to no quirks that spoke of the occupant’s personality. The teen had certainly never spent enough time there to make it a home anyway.

“I see that our worries were unfounded,” Asuma mused, looking around the room much less subtly than Kurenai but better than Gai who was literally bouncing around the place. “You look well, Kakashi.”

Apart from giving a deadpan stare, Kakashi didn’t react; instead, he stretched out a hand, snagging Gai’s collar when the man bounced past him and tossed him on the bed.

“Sit down before you break something, Gai,” he ordered, visible eye narrowed when the spandex clad spun his arms around and missed a shelf by an inch.

The taijutsu master’s expression turned sheepish and he quickly sat down next to an amused Asuma. “It is quite the surprise, my rival! I am glad to see that the light in your spirit is shining brightly!”

“Right…”

Kakashi stared at Gai for one moment, then turned to Kurenai. “Care to translate?”

“We were worried since no one had seen you for days,” the woman explained, crimson eyes showing her relief at seeing their friend appearing healthier and happier than ever. “We also went by your apartment but the landlady said you’d cancelled your contract.”

“Ah.”

“Not to blame you, but you didn’t mention anything to anyone either,” Asuma threw in his piece, taking in the Hatake. Kakashi had always been lanky and thin, but now he was filled out. Seemed like he was getting regular meals and proper rest.

Before he could formulate a reply, there was a soft knock on the door. Kakashi got up to open it, aware that the active privacy seals would not allow any sound to escape the room. Hikari stood outside, grinning up at him with a tray in her hands, laden with sweets and glasses of water.

“Think your friends would be fine with just water?” she asked, letting the teen take the tray from her. “We’re out of tea and I’m saving the juice for the kids.”

“They better be,” Kakashi replied absently, making a face when there wasn’t anything to his liking amongst the food. “Everything is sweet.”

Hikari rolled her eyes. “I think I’ve spoilt you too much,” she retorted before conceding, “It’s actually matcha pudding; I even cut down the amount of sugar I used while making it.”

“Oh, good.”

When the girl shot him an exasperated look and turned on her heel, a hand shot out to grab the back of her shirt and hoisted her up, earning a noise of protest.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

“Introducing you.”

“I already know them! Besides, they’re here for you!”

“Hmm.”

Ignoring the flailing, Kakashi balanced the tray of food in one hand and pulled the girl into the room, shutting the door with his foot. Hikari glared at the silver haired teen when he finally dropped her on his desk, kicking him half-heartedly.

Asuma, Gai and Kurenai watched the by-play with entertained expressions, sharing slightly bemused glances with each other as Kakashi passed out the pudding.

“Did you make this, Hikari-chan?” Kurenai asked, eyeing the perfectly formed pudding with interest. It looked like something she would find in a shop. “It looks very good.”

“Thanks for the compliment, Kurenai-san,” the redhead chirped happily, having resigned to her fate and making herself comfortable. “Naruto and Karin have never had many sweets before, so I experiment every month or so with new recipes. It’s actually easier to appease them rather than the picky idiot.”

“Picky idiot?” Asuma echoed with a wide grin, glancing at the unfazed Hatake. “I suppose it fits Kakashi well.”

“Right? It’s not a bad thing to dislike sweets, but he whines when he doesn’t get a piece but then grumbles that it’s too sweet!”

“I just have good taste.”

That comment earned a deadpan stare from the Uzumaki. “Eat your dessert, Kashi-nii, before I decide it’s too good for you and take it for myself.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

Kakashi pointed his spoon at her, holding the matcha pudding -something that actually suited his preferences- protectively. “You are an _evil_ brat,” he accused, though there was no real heat behind his words.

Hikari’s only response was another exasperated eyeroll.

“So? Why were you guys looking for Kashi-nii?”

Gai, who had been enjoying his own dessert with much gusto and loud compliments, cut himself off to reply to her, “My eternal rival had not been seen for days! And he had even moved out! They were worthy causes for concern but I am delighted to find him well!”

“’Moved out’?” Hikari repeated, a frown furrowing her eyebrows as she glanced between the two supposed rivals. “What did you not tell me, Kashi-nii?”

“Like you said, I never used my apartment,” Kakashi shrugged, clearly unconcerned about the conversation. “So I just moved here.”

“And you didn’t bother to tell me or your friends?” The girl’s voice was drier than a dessert, her expression saying that she was completely done with her pseudo-brother’s nonchalant attitude. “And you ask why I call you an idiot.”

“You never asked.”

“I think that it’s a given when the owner of the house you’ve moved into is me, Kashi-nii. Well, at least Naruto will be pleased with this.”

“And you’re not? I’m hurt, Hikari.”

“You’ll live,” Hikari waved her hand dismissively, shifting her attention to the other three adults. She could see barely hidden shock on their features and internally wondered if it was that strange to see Kakashi bantering with another person. “How did you guys know to find him here anyway?”

“Hokage-sama told us. It was a real surprise to hear that Kakashi was actually in the village and not on a mission.”

“Ah. His suicidal phase.”

“You know about that?” Asuma asked, intrigued. It was clear that the Uzumaki girl was the one responsible for their friend’s change and he was grateful for that. Seeing Kakashi spiral deeper into the darkness had been painful; he didn’t want to witness that again, standing on the sidelines with no idea how to help.

“Kind of. Safe to say that he won’t be going that way again, not if he knows what’s good for him.”

Gai took that moment to leap off the bed, rushing to Hikari and grabbing the startled girl’s hands. “YOU HAVE MY ETERNAL GRATITUDE, HIKARI-CHAN!” he yelled, voice boisterous and cheerful once more. “TO SEE THAT THE FIRES OF YOUTH HAVE BEEN LIT AGAIN IN OUR DEAR FRIEND IS WONDERFUL!”

Hikari’s expression turned bemused but she didn’t pull away, head tilted to the side in thought. “There’s no need for thanks, Gai-san,” she finally said, a small but genuine tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Kakashi-nii is very precious to me and I like to see him happy too.”

That was all it took for Gai to grab the Uzumaki in a bear hug, tears streaming down his cheeks in waterfalls as he blubbered incoherently about ‘spring’ and ‘youth’.

“Oi, Gai,” Asuma sighed, getting up to pull the man away. “Let go of her; you’re probably choking her.”

“Oh! My deepest apologies, Hikari-chan!”

“It’s fine,” Hikari waved away the apologies with a smile, straightening her clothes. She had received worse, after all. “I didn’t really mind.”

She stopped for a second, head tilted towards the door. “I think Naruto and Karin are awake now,” she murmured, hopping off the desk. “Pretty sure Manami-san can handle them but I think I’ll go help her out. You guys should come meet them when you’re done with your conversation.”

With that, Hikari slipped out the door, leaving three adults staring at her back.

“Well, I see how she was able to straighten Kakashi out,” Kurenai finally said, a teasing smile on her lips as she looked at the silver-haired teen in the corner. “Hikari-chan sure is a no-nonsense person.”

Kakashi snorted. “Hardly. She’s a troll and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“She’s got a good heart though,” Asuma said, lounging back on the bed. “You feel safe here, don’t you, Kakashi?”

“…what do you mean?”

The Sarutobi gestured to the windows. “You keep the windows open, share a house with at least four other people and most of all, you look lighter.”

There was a short silence while Kakashi took that in, staring out the window at the Hokage Monument, specifically at the Yondaime. “Hikari made me see that I still had something to live for,” he said, voice distant but strong. “She didn’t take no for an answer and was rather clear that she would drag me along, kicking and screaming.”

“Seems perfect for you.”

“MY ETERNAL RIVAL HAS GAINED A WONDERFUL SISTER!”

Kakashi snorted, turning away from the window. “Try two,” he replied blandly. “And a little brother.”

“Oh?” Kurenai perked up, interested. “Do you mean the kids she mentioned, Karin and Naruto?”

“Yeah. They’re kind of a package deal.”

Asuma grinned, “Guess we now know who we need to kick you into shape if you ever need it again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Send me prompts or ideas based on the Twisting Reality universe!
> 
> Posted: 19/11/2020


	3. A darker turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A darker world where Hikari and Shisui are dead, and Itachi joined Akatsuki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Sara's [request](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27634679/comments/365859568).

Kisame stared at the village in the distance and then at his morose partner, mouth twisted in a frown of confusion. When no explanation was forthcoming despite his increasingly questioning looks, he asked, “Oi, Itachi, what are we doing near Konoha? We aren’t supposed to approach our target yet.”

The Uchiha did not reply, Sharingan eyes focused on the gates of Konoha. The pair was still far from the village but the massive gates were visible through the trees. After a few seconds, Itachi turned and started walking towards the west, a grumpy Kisame following him.

“I think I deserve an explanation if you’re going to drag me around, Uchiha!”

Twitching when he still didn’t get a response, Kisame shot a dark glare at his partner’s back and followed. He had been hoping for a fight when he realized that they were near Konoha; two of the Akatsuki’s targets, the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi and the Kyuubi lived there and even if they didn’t succeed in retrieving them, a good fight would have been welcomed.

But Itachi hadn’t even crossed the barrier the two knew existed, apparently content to watch from far away.

And Leader would have had their heads if Kisame and Itachi had gone after the Jinchuuriki so early.

After about an hour of steady walking, the pair reached a field of flowers, multi-colored blooms as far as the eye could see. _‘Didn’t think Itachi would like a place like this,’_ the shark-like man thought, choosing to stay at the edge of the field while his partner ventured farther. _‘Wait…all of these are the same type of flower…I think they were called tulips?’_

Uncaring of Kisame’s thoughts, Itachi knelt to brush his hand against the petals of a pink tulip, caressing the velvety surface gently. If one looked closer, they would be able to see a hint of sorrow and melancholy in his dark eyes, Sharingan deactivated for once.

A red tulip, with a very familiar shade of crimson, caught his eye and Itachi reached for it without thinking, fingers closing around the stem. The unintended action exposed his wrist and sunlight was reflected off a thin strip of metal, attracting the attention of the other man in the area.

“Huh?”

Kisame squinted, trying to see just what had gleamed. He only got a short glimpse before Itachi shook his sleeve back into position. But it was enough to deduce what it was. “That bracelet looks a little too feminine for Itachi…what a weird guy.”

Sitting down and leaning against the trunk of a tree, Kisame removed Samehada from his back and placed it at his side; he had a hand around the hilt though, in case he needed to draw the weapon immediately for some reason or the other. He simply sat there, watching the second youngest member of the Akatsuki looking rather at home amongst the flowers.

Itachi made his way towards the only tree in the field, red tulip clutched in his left hand. His right brushed over two names carved into the bark, tiny seals etched around them to prevent them from being worn down. They would remain until the tree died or was cut down.

A rare smile curled his lips, softening his features.

“…it has been a while. I’m back.”

It was almost sundown when Itachi returned to his partner, Kisame eyeing him with speculation. His curiosity had reached its limit hours ago and he had channeled chakra to his eyes to see just what was on the tree that had Itachi so riveted.

_Uzumaki Hikari._

_Uchiha Shisui._

The first was an interesting name, having had believed that the Uzumaki were long since extinct. To find out that there had been a survivor and that Itachi had known her was interesting.

“Hey, what did you come here for?”

Silence.

Kisame ground his teeth, squashing his rage so that he wouldn’t kill the ice prince in a fit. He did _not_ want to be the one to explain to Leader why he needed a new partner. Much to his surprise, after they had walked for a few minutes, Itachi spoke up.

“…visiting a grave.”

* * *

Kisame pondered about what Itachi had told him about a grave but had not returned to the flower field on his own, understanding that it was an important place for the Uchiha. He may be a nukenin, but he had his own version of honor. Truth be told, he did not know much about his assigned partner, something he had not been concerned about before but it was an oversight he intended to correct.

He started by asking around in Akatsuki.

Approaching Pain and Konan was pointless; neither of them cared what the rest of Akatsuki was up to most of the time as long as they stuck to the plan. Also, searching for them was an exercise in futility.

Sasori was useless, too fixated on his puppets and Kisame wasn’t going to touch Orochimaru’s obsession with the Uchiha with a ten-foot pole.

It was Kakuzu who gave Kisame some information, having kept himself updated on the bounty on the Uchiha’s head in case he got an opportunity to claim it.

“Uchiha Itachi, S-Rank nukenin from Konoha,” Kakuzu intoned, nose still buried in the book he carried around to keep track of his money and available bounties. “Classified as such for the murder of an Advisor of Konoha, Shimura Danzo, the Elders of the Uchiha Clan, a renowned S-Rank Jounin and ANBU, Uchiha Shisui also known as Shunshin no Shisui and the ward of the Sandaime Hokage, Uzumaki Hikari.”

There were those names again.

Why would Itachi visit the grave of the girl and boy he had killed?

Finally his burning curiosity reached its limit and Kisame blurted out a question rather tactlessly and in the midst of most of the other Akatsuki members. Not that he cared; he just wanted answers.

“Does that bracelet of yours belong to Uzumaki Hikari?”

The rest of the room -a cave, really- consisting of Sasori, Deidara and Kakuzu, paused in whatever they were doing, turning to watch the Uchiha direct a rather impressive glare at the Hoshigaki. The swirling tomoe of the Sharingan just made it all the more threatening.

“That is none of your business.”

Deidara snorted, smirking as he jumped into the conversation, “Who knows? The prick might just be messed up enough to wear a mark of his lover! Who he killed!”

The temperature dropped a few degrees and the shinobi tensed, wary of the cold rage emanating from the dark-haired teen. Nothing ever affected the Uchiha much and most of the time, he was like an unfeeling block of ice. To feel his palpable rage was rather unsettling.

“Watch your tongue, Deidara,” Itachi murmured softly, the promise of a painful death in his voice. “Or you shall lose it.”

Unwilling to back down despite the danger, the blond shot back, “Anyone would think like that! I’ve seen you kiss that bracelet multiple times! Why would you do that unless it was your lover’s?!”

“I have never had a lover.”

“Bu-”

“Shut up, Deidara!” Kisame snapped, already regretting indulging his curiosity. The Akatsuki weren’t friends, just a bunch of powerful and bloodthirsty freaks united under the banner of their Leader. They didn’t care about making nice with each other.

Deidara huffed, throwing himself back into his chair with a pout, looking much like a petulant child denied candy. Sasori looked as unconcerned as ever while Kakuzu had a worrying glint in his greedy eyes, cataloguing Itachi’s reaction as a possible weakness.

Silence descended upon the shinobi one again, each member absorbed in their own thoughts or work. So it came as a shock when Itachi decided to speak.

“The bingo book has incorrect data,” he said, staring at the cave wall, gaze almost vacant. “I did not kill Shisui and Hikari.”

No one made a single sound, stunned by the Uchiha’s sudden willingness to talk about himself.

“Hikari was killed by Shimura Danzo and the Uchiha Elders, for they believed her to be a thorn in their side. And Shisui was killed while protecting her.” Itachi paused, raising the wrist with the bracelet to eye level and memorizing the little seals on them once again, a reminder of the girl who had done so much for him. “I merely exacted my revenge on them.”

He quietened, letting the others process the information. Itachi did not care about them knowing some of his past; it was something that no one could actually use against him, even if it was capable of evoking some emotion from him.

“I knew it! She really was your lover!” Deidara burst out, expression filled with triumphant glee as he pointed an accusing finger at the Uchiha.

The comment made Itachi shake his head. “Hikari was a dear sister to me,” he revealed. “It was, in truth, Shisui who was utterly besotted with her. And I believe that the sentiment was returned.”

With that, he disappeared from the cave, leaving behind a bunch of dumbstruck nukenin who, in his opinion, were really meddlesome gossips and a pitiful excuse for shinobi.

“Well, damn,” Kisame finally muttered into the silence. “To turn traitor for a sister-figure and best friend. Never expected that out of that ice statue.”

* * *

**_“Was it wise to tell them that?”_ **

Itachi breathed in the cool night air, taking in the full moon and starless sky. Interacting with the Akatsuki always left him restless and twitchy, but he endured it because it was a necessary evil.

 _“It is but a fraction of the truth,”_ he returned to the other gift Hikari had left him, voice serene and steady. _“It is of no consequence, Kurama-sama, and it will keep the rest from bothering me much.”_

The Uchiha wasn’t actually lying when he told the Akatsuki that he killed the Elders but there was more to it.

Having grown increasingly upset at their failure to gain more power for the clan, the Uchiha Elders with a small faction who supported them, had attempted to take the two Jinchuuriki. That had not gone well with Hikari but unfortunately, the fools had managed to partially break the seals containing the Bijuu.

The Elders had allied with Danzo, who had brought along his Root. Shisui had taken up a defensive role while Hikari had occupied herself with sealing the Bijuu. Had it not been for Root’s underhanded methods, they would have succeeded with little to no harm to themselves.

Itachi had arrived on the scene, with Kakashi and the Sandaime in tow, just in time to see Hikari rip out Danzo’s heart with clawed fingers. Her expression had been a terrifying mix of incandescent rage and heartbreaking despair. Shisui’s cooling body had been lying a few feet away, littering with multiple lacerations and a sword through his heart.

She had then collapsed into Itachi’s arms, breathing labored and choking on her blood. She had apologized, saying that she and Shisui were leaving him behind. A vicious poison had been coursing through her veins, somehow killing her faster than Kurama could heal her.

 ** _“Do you regret taking me that night, Itachi?”_** Kurama asked, having followed his current host’s thoughts. **_“You would not have to suffer the life of a Jinchuuriki.”_**

 _“Not once,”_ came the prompt response. Itachi closed his eyes and sank into his mindscape, opening them when the scent of flowers hit his nose. Unlike Hikari’s sewer-like mindscape, his was an open grassy plain with daffodils and scilla under a starry sky. The flowers were a tribute to Hikari and Shisui, and Kurama didn’t mind them either, so they stayed and flourished.

The great fox was sitting on his haunches, crimson eyes watching the equally crimson moon in the sky. **_“I want revenge,”_** he said, allowing the teen to come closer and rest a hand on his leg. **_“Hikari was the only human I cared about, and dare I say, loved.”_**

_“I know. And you will have it.”_

Part of his vengeance had been obtained when Hikari had killed Danzo and Itachi the Uchiha Elders, but Kurama wanted to obliterate the true mastermind behind that plot, Black Zetsu.

If that creature had not meddled with the Uchiha Elders and concocted that accursed poison, then Hikari and Shisui would still be alive.

Itachi had known the truth behind Hikari’s existence and upon her death, had basically inherited everything she had owned. But above all, he had inherited her _will_.

She had told him about his counterpart and in order to obtain Kurama’s vengeance and accomplish her goals, Itachi had taken on the role of a traitor. Kakashi and Hiruzen had tried to convince him not to do so but he had been undeterred. He would leave Konoha with the impression that he had turned on the village; Shisui and Hikari’s deaths at his hands would convince everyone, since he had been very close to them.

If Shisui and Hikari could see him now, Itachi doubted they’d approve of his choices.

 ** _“Hikari would forgive you,”_** Kurama commented, nudging the Uchiha with his nose. **_“When I asked to be sealed within you and you accepted, she knew what you were planning. Idiotic plan it may be but she understood.”_**

That gained a smile and Itachi nodded. _“Hikari did always seem to be able to see through me.”_

Itachi’s reasons for joining Akatsuki was to find Obito and Black Zetsu, to save one life and end another. It included a bonus of having a chance to protect Naruto and Gaara, perhaps even stop Akatsuki’s plans before they could be executed.

Besides, it was kind of amusing to know that Pain had the Kyuubi right under his nose and not be aware of it.

_“Kurama-sama, when all of this is over, what do you plan to do?”_

The Bijuu pondered over the question, turning it over and over in his head. **_“Perhaps I’ll pass on,”_** he finally said, settling down with his head on his paws. **_“I have no reason to exist in this world of filthy mortals. And you?”_**

 _“I would like to see Shisui and Hikari again,”_ the Uchiha confessed, tone wistful. He had not lied when he said that he had no romantic feelings towards Hikari or towards Shisui, but they were parts of his soul and their loss was still a large, gaping wound.

Itachi knew that, should he return to Konoha after the completion of his self-assigned mission, they would welcome him back with open arms. The Clan Heads had never believed the fabricated story; his father had even intercepted one of his cats once and sent him supplies.

Sasuke, Itachi was aware, had made it his goal to uncover the truth and bring his brother back, joined by Naruto, Gaara and Karin. The latter trio had come as sort of a surprise, but they apparently saw him as a big brother and refused to believe that he had killed their sister.

Such maturity and compassion from mere children.

But regardless, Itachi couldn’t bring himself to go back. Every corner would remind him of his friends and eventually it _would_ drive him insane.

When his mission was complete, Itachi, along with Kurama, would leave the world to join Shisui and Hikari.

They would be together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if this is what you wanted, Sara-san, but I hope you liked it!  
> Written faster than I expected, but your prompt was very interesting.  
> Let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> Send me prompts and ideas!
> 
> Posted: 29/11/2020


	4. A darker turn (Angst version)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A darker world where Hikari and Shisui are dead, and Itachi joined Akatsuki. (Angst version)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a cruel and sadistic author who likes to make her readers cry, so here's what I had originally planned for the previous chapter.  
> It's still the same plot, with a few additions.

Kisame stared at the village in the distance and then at his morose partner, mouth twisted in a frown of confusion. When no explanation was forthcoming despite his increasingly questioning looks, he asked, “Oi, Itachi, what are we doing near Konoha? We aren’t supposed to approach our target yet.”

The Uchiha did not reply, Sharingan eyes focused on the gates of Konoha. The pair was still far from the village but the massive gates were visible through the trees. After a few seconds, Itachi turned and started walking towards the west, a grumpy Kisame following him.

“I think I deserve an explanation if you’re going to drag me around, Uchiha!”

Twitching when he still didn’t get a response, Kisame shot a dark glare at his partner’s back and followed. He had been hoping for a fight when he realized that they were near Konoha; two of the Akatsuki’s targets, the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi and the Kyuubi lived there and even if they didn’t succeed in retrieving them, a good fight would have been welcomed.

But Itachi hadn’t even crossed the barrier the two knew existed, apparently content to watch from far away.

And Leader would have had their heads if Kisame and Itachi had gone after the Jinchuuriki so early.

After about an hour of steady walking, the pair reached a field of flowers, multi-colored blooms as far as the eye could see. _‘Didn’t think Itachi would like a place like this,’_ the shark-like man thought, choosing to stay at the edge of the field while his partner ventured farther. _‘Wait…all of these are the same type of flower…I think they were called tulips?’_

Uncaring of Kisame’s thoughts, Itachi knelt to brush his hand against the petals of a pink tulip, caressing the velvety surface gently. If one looked closer, they would be able to see a hint of sorrow and melancholy in his dark eyes, Sharingan deactivated for once.

A red tulip, with a very familiar shade of crimson, caught his eye and Itachi reached for it without thinking, fingers closing around the stem. The unintended action exposed his wrist and sunlight was reflected off a thin strip of metal, attracting the attention of the other man in the area.

“Huh?”

Kisame squinted, trying to see just what had gleamed. He only got a short glimpse before Itachi shook his sleeve back into position. But it was enough to deduce what it was. “That bracelet looks a little too feminine for Itachi…what a weird guy.”

Sitting down and leaning against the trunk of a tree, Kisame removed Samehada from his back and placed it at his side; he had a hand around the hilt though, in case he needed to draw the weapon immediately for some reason or the other. He simply sat there, watching the second youngest member of the Akatsuki looking rather at home amongst the flowers.

Itachi made his way towards the only tree in the field, red tulip clutched in his left hand. His right brushed over two names carved into the bark, tiny seals etched around them to prevent them from being worn down. They would remain until the tree died or was cut down.

A rare smile curled his lips, softening his features.

“…it has been a while. I’m back.”

A year ago…

_The sharp point of a kunai pierced the bark of a tree, the sound drowned by the pouring rain. Wrapped around the hilt of the weapon was a pale, trembling hand, the owner uncaring about his drenched state as he carved something into the trunk._

_“You don’t have to do this,” a voice spoke from the other side of the tree. “They wouldn’t have wanted this for you, Itachi.”_

_The Uchiha did not reply, entirely focused on his task. Once he was done, he gently ran a hand over the carvings, channeling a tiny bit of his chakra into them. Only then did he speak._

_“But they’re not here.”_

_Kakashi bit back a sigh. “I know.”_

_Stepping around the tree when he heard muffled footsteps, he reached out to grab the younger boy’s hand. Itachi stopped and turned back, expression blank but clearly demanding an explanation._

_“Here,” the Hatake simply said, pulling something from his pocket and sliding it onto the other’s wrist._

_Itachi’s dull, lifeless eyes lit up, for the first time since_ that _day. A finger caressed the metal reverently, tracing the little seals that would make no sense to no one but him._

_“…Naruto-kun should have this, Kakashi-san.”_

_“It means more to you than to him, Itachi,” Kakashi shot back in response, having already expected the protest. He wouldn’t take back what had been given. If the Uchiha didn’t want it, he could damn well return it himself. “I can’t convince you to stop, can I?”_

_“…I’m sorry.”_

_Kakashi’s head bowed in sorrow and acknowledgement, allowing the Uchiha to walk away._

* * *

It was almost sundown when Itachi returned to his partner, Kisame eyeing him with speculation. His curiosity had reached its limit hours ago and he had channeled chakra to his eyes to see just what was on the tree that had Itachi so riveted.

_Uzumaki Hikari._

_Uchiha Shisui._

The first was an interesting name, having had believed that the Uzumaki were long since extinct. To find out that there had been a survivor and that Itachi had known her was interesting.

“Hey, what did you come here for?”

Silence.

Kisame ground his teeth, squashing his rage so that he wouldn’t kill the ice prince in a fit. He did _not_ want to be the one to explain to Leader why he needed a new partner. Much to his surprise, after they had walked for a few minutes, Itachi spoke up.

“…visiting a grave.”

* * *

Kisame pondered about what Itachi had told him about a grave but had not returned to the flower field on his own, understanding that it was an important place for the Uchiha. He may be a nukenin, but he had his own version of honor. Truth be told, he did not know much about his assigned partner, something he had not been concerned about before but it was an oversight he intended to correct.

He started by asking around in Akatsuki.

Approaching Pain and Konan was pointless; neither of them cared what the rest of Akatsuki was up to most of the time as long as they stuck to the plan. Also, searching for them was an exercise in futility.

Sasori was useless, too fixated on his puppets and Kisame wasn’t going to touch Orochimaru’s obsession with the Uchiha with a ten-foot pole.

It was Kakuzu who gave Kisame some information, having kept himself updated on the bounty on the Uchiha’s head in case he got an opportunity to claim it.

“Uchiha Itachi, S-Rank nukenin from Konoha,” Kakuzu intoned, nose still buried in the book he carried around to keep track of his money and available bounties. “Classified as such for the murder of an Advisor of Konoha, Shimura Danzo, the Elders of the Uchiha Clan, a renowned S-Rank Jounin and ANBU, Uchiha Shisui also known as Shunshin no Shisui and the ward of the Sandaime Hokage, Uzumaki Hikari.”

There were those names again.

Why would Itachi visit the grave of the girl and boy he had killed?

Finally his burning curiosity reached its limit and Kisame blurted out a question rather tactlessly and in the midst of most of the other Akatsuki members. Not that he cared; he just wanted answers.

“Does that bracelet of yours belong to Uzumaki Hikari?”

The rest of the room -a cave, really- consisting of Sasori, Deidara and Kakuzu, paused in whatever they were doing, turning to watch the Uchiha direct a rather impressive glare at the Hoshigaki. The swirling tomoe of the Sharingan just made it all the more threatening.

“That is none of your business.”

Deidara snorted, smirking as he jumped into the conversation, “Who knows? The prick might just be messed up enough to wear a mark of his lover! Who he killed!”

The temperature dropped a few degrees and the shinobi tensed, wary of the cold rage emanating from the dark-haired teen. Nothing ever affected the Uchiha much and most of the time, he was like an unfeeling block of ice. To feel his palpable rage was rather unsettling.

“Watch your tongue, Deidara,” Itachi murmured softly, the promise of a painful death in his voice. “Or you shall lose it.”

Unwilling to back down despite the danger, the blond shot back, “Anyone would think like that! I’ve seen you kiss that bracelet multiple times! Why would you do that unless it was your lover’s?!”

“I have never had a lover.”

“Bu-”

“Shut up, Deidara!” Kisame snapped, already regretting indulging his curiosity. The Akatsuki weren’t friends, just a bunch of powerful and bloodthirsty freaks united under the banner of their Leader. They didn’t care about making nice with each other.

Deidara huffed, throwing himself back into his chair with a pout, looking much like a petulant child denied candy. Sasori looked as unconcerned as ever while Kakuzu had a worrying glint in his greedy eyes, cataloguing Itachi’s reaction as a possible weakness.

Silence descended upon the shinobi one again, each member absorbed in their own thoughts or work. So it came as a shock when Itachi decided to speak.

“The bingo book has incorrect data,” he said, staring at the cave wall, gaze almost vacant. “I did not kill Shisui and Hikari.”

No one made a single sound, stunned by the Uchiha’s sudden willingness to talk about himself.

“Hikari was killed by Shimura Danzo and the Uchiha Elders, for they believed her to be a thorn in their side. And Shisui was killed while protecting her.” Itachi paused, raising the wrist with the bracelet to eye level and memorizing the little seals on them once again, a reminder of the girl who had done so much for him. “I merely exacted my revenge on them.”

He quietened, letting the others process the information. Itachi did not care about them knowing some of his past; it was something that no one could actually use against him, even if it was capable of evoking some emotion from him.

“I knew it! She really was your lover!” Deidara burst out, expression filled with triumphant glee as he pointed an accusing finger at the Uchiha.

The comment made Itachi shake his head. “Hikari was a dear sister to me,” he revealed. “It was, in truth, Shisui who was utterly besotted with her. And I believe that the sentiment was returned.”

With that, he disappeared from the cave, leaving behind a bunch of dumbstruck nukenin who, in his opinion, were really meddlesome gossips and a pitiful excuse for shinobi.

“Well, damn,” Kisame finally muttered into the silence. “To turn traitor for a sister-figure and best friend. Never expected that out of that ice statue.”

* * *

**_“Was it wise to tell them that?”_ **

Itachi breathed in the cool night air, taking in the full moon and starless sky. Interacting with the Akatsuki always left him restless and twitchy, but he endured it because it was a necessary evil.

 _“It is but a fraction of the truth,”_ he returned to the other gift Hikari had left him, voice serene and steady. _“It is of no consequence, Kurama-sama, and it will keep the rest from bothering me much.”_

The Uchiha wasn’t actually lying when he told the Akatsuki that he had killed the Elders but there was more to it.

Having grown increasingly upset at their failure to gain more power for the clan, the Uchiha Elders with a small faction who supported them, had attempted to take the two Jinchuuriki. That had not gone well with Hikari but unfortunately, the fools had managed to partially break the seals containing the Bijuu.

The Elders had allied with Danzo, who had brought along his Root. Shisui had taken up a defensive role while Hikari had occupied herself with sealing the Bijuu. Had it not been for Root’s underhanded methods, they would have succeeded with little to no harm to themselves.

_A high-pitched feminine voice let out a bloodcurdling scream, pain, hate, anger and sorrow all wrapped into the near animalistic sound._

_Itachi increased his pace uncaring of the pair following him, heart beating a staccato of panic and fear, instinctively knowing that he was too late. He burst through the trees, the unpleasant scent of blood hitting his nose immediately._

_His eyes were immediately drawn to the familiar red; the girl’s body was covered in blood, but it was unknown if it was all hers or not. Her expression was terrifying, a mix of incandescent rage and heartbreaking despair as she lunged at the stumbling old man in front of her._

_Hikari’s hand shot forward, sinking into the man’s chest in a single smooth motion. Blood spilled from Danzo’s mouth, splattering the girl’s face but she didn’t care, snarling, “This is for Shisui, you bastard!”_

_“Y-You-”_

_She didn’t care to listen to his drivel, viciously twisting and wrenching her arm out. A still beating heart was in her clawed hand, pumping weakly as if trying to keep the body it had been in alive. Danzo stared at her, eyes wide as if he didn’t realize he was going to be dead in a few seconds._

_“I should have done this long ago!”_

_Slender fingers tightened around the organ they held, crushing it in a mess of blood and muscle. Hikari watched dispassionately as the light faded from the eyes of the man she hated more than anyone else, Danzo’s body finally crumpling to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut._

_Itachi leapt forward as the girl swayed, catching her bloodstained and weakened form in his arms. Hikari coughed, blood coating her lips as dull blue eyes met black, “I-Itachi…”_

_“Don’t talk!” the Uchiha snapped, a hand with glowing green chakra placed on her chest in an attempt to diagnose her injuries._

_“That..won’t work…”_

_“Let him try, Hikari-chan,” Hiruzen urged, worry on his features as he watched the two children, Kakashi still as stone next to him._

_But the girl did not spare any attention to them, sad eyes focused only on her friend. “P-Poisoned…even...Kurama can’t…”_

_“No!” Itachi screamed, his tightly held composure shattering as he held the slowly dying girl in his arms. “You can’t die, not like this!”_

_Hikari raised a shaking hand, the boy catching it his own despite the blood coating the limb. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as a sob slipped past her lips. “Cou..ldn’t…protect him…”_

_Her head turned to the side, free hand stretched as if reaching for something. Itachi looked up, following her gaze, heart almost stopping when he saw another familiar body._

_Shisui was lying in the distance, curled around two small bodies protectively. His clothes were dirty and torn, blood trickling in various places from the deep wounds littering his skin._

_Itachi didn’t need to look closer to know what had happened; if the way too still form of his cousin wasn’t a glaring hint, then the sword through his heart was._

_Shisui was dead._

_Distantly noting that Hikari was trying to reach him, Itachi picked her up and walked on unsteady feet to the cooling body of the other Uchiha. He dropped to his knees, placing Hikari gently on the ground, next to Shisui._

_“He tried to protect me,” Hikari choked out through labored breaths, reaching out to turn the teen onto his back, the sword somehow slipping out at the movement. She pulled herself closer to him, resting her forehead against his shoulder with a sigh. “Stupid Shisui…”_

_“He loved you,” Itachi said in an equally soft voice, tightening his grip on the redhead’s hand. “Shisui would have done anything for you, Hikari.”_

_The Uzumaki shook with stifled sobs, raising her hand to cradle a cold cheek. Hikari moved with great difficulty, paining lancing through her body at every movement. But she didn’t give up, pressing a kiss to Shisui’s cheek._

_“I know…I loved him too. And I never…got to tell him.”_

_Her voice broke on the last syllable, knowing that she was dying, pain of the emotional kind clenching her heart at the knowledge that Itachi would be alone soon. She knew that he held only the two of them close; with Shisui gone and her about to follow him, there would be no one to provide the kind of support Itachi desperately needed._

_Kurama, who had been silent until that moment, spoke. **“Kit, let me out.”**_

_Huh?_

_…oh._

_Why not?_

_She was dying anyway, the seal breaking would do no more harm to her._

_No need to bring her precious friend down with her, when she could give him his freedom._

_Concentrating on her seal, Hikari broke it with a smile. In the real world, the girl’s body was enveloped with red chakra. It flared for a bit then coalesced into a dense mass, shifting and twisting until a small, orange fox with nine tails sat next to the former Jinchuuriki._

_Wrapping a tail around the redhead’s wrist, Kurama gazed into the eyes of the living Uchiha solemnly. Itachi stared back without a flinch into the slitted, crimson eyes, noting the dangerous glint of frenzied anger in them. The Kyuubi’s entire form radiated malevolence, and he knew who it was directed at._

**_“Uchiha Itachi,”_ ** _the fox rumbled, voice tight with rage and well-hidden pain. **“Will you become my next Jinchuuriki?”**_

_“Kurama..?!”_

_Itachi paid the girl’s weak protest no heed, knowing that it was his choice. He knew that the Kyuubi wanted revenge but without a host, the Bijuu who was foreign to that dimension, was likely to fade away before obtaining it. Kurama was, in a way, Hikari’s legacy, and Itachi would do what he could to protect him._

_With that, his decision was made._

_“Yes, Kurama-sama.”_

_A sigh escaped Hikari’s lips at the resolute ring in Itachi’s words. There was no convincing him otherwise now. And she would be lying if she wasn’t a little relieved at the turn of events; Kurama was fond of the Uchiha in his own way and the two wouldn’t be entirely alone._

_Tightening her grip on Itachi’s hand to gain his attention, Hikari smiled at him, small but understanding. Kurama nuzzled against her neck once then moved back to sit next to the Uchiha, knowing without an explanation what the girl was going to do._

_Hikari gathered the last of her chakra, twisting it into a seal she was intimately familiar with._

_“Hakke Fuuin.”_

_The sealing process was quick and efficient, the fact that both Bijuu and Jinchuuriki were willing making it that much easier. Itachi felt the seal on his stomach, a brand made of Hikari’s chakra settling into his skin. It pulsed once, a sign from Kurama, before falling dormant._

_“Take…care of…each other…”_

_Hikari’s weak voice reached his ears and Itachi nodded, a lump in his throat preventing him from uttering a word. Her fingers squeezed his once then fell limp, eyes fluttering close as her life slipped away._

_“Love you…Itachi…Kurama…”_

_After what felt like an eternity, Itachi placed the now cold hand on the ground. His eyes burned, the tears he had held back sliding down his cheeks and falling to form tiny puddles._

_He knew neither how long he stayed there, bent over the bodies of his two best friends, nor when the tomoe of his Sharingan spun and transformed into three spiraling curves around the pupils._

_In just one night, Itachi had his only true friends stolen from him forever._

* * *

**_“Do you regret taking me that night, Itachi?”_** Kurama asked, having followed his current host’s thoughts. **_“You would not have to suffer the life of a Jinchuuriki.”_**

 _“Not once,”_ came the prompt response. Itachi closed his eyes and sank into his mindscape, opening them when the scent of flowers hit his nose. Unlike Hikari’s sewer-like mindscape, his was an open grassy plain with daffodils and scilla under a starry sky. The flowers were a tribute to Hikari and Shisui, and Kurama didn’t mind them either, so they stayed and flourished.

The great fox was sitting on his haunches, crimson eyes watching the equally crimson moon in the sky. **_“I want revenge,”_** he said, allowing the teen to come closer and rest a hand on his leg. **_“Hikari was the only human I cared about, and dare I say, loved.”_**

_“I know. And you will have it.”_

Part of his vengeance had been obtained when Hikari had killed Danzo and Itachi the Uchiha Elders, but Kurama wanted to obliterate the true mastermind behind that plot, Black Zetsu.

If that creature had not meddled with the Uchiha Elders and concocted that accursed poison, then Hikari and Shisui would still be alive.

Itachi had known the truth behind Hikari’s existence and upon her death, had basically inherited everything she had owned. But above all, he had inherited her _will_.

She had told him about his counterpart and in order to obtain Kurama’s vengeance and accomplish her goals, Itachi had taken on the role of a traitor. Kakashi and Hiruzen had tried to convince him not to do so but he had been undeterred. He would leave Konoha with the impression that he had turned on the village; Shisui and Hikari’s deaths at supposedly his hands would convince everyone, since he had been very close to them.

If Shisui and Hikari could see him now, Itachi doubted they’d approve of his choices.

 ** _“Hikari would forgive you,”_** Kurama commented, nudging the Uchiha with his nose. **_“When I asked to be sealed within you and you accepted, she knew what you were planning. Idiotic plan it may be but she understood.”_**

That gained a smile and Itachi nodded. _“Hikari did always seem to be able to see through me.”_

Itachi’s reasons for joining Akatsuki was to find Obito and Black Zetsu, to save one life and end another. It included the bonus of having a chance to protect Naruto and Gaara, perhaps even stop Akatsuki’s plans before they could be executed.

Besides, it was kind of amusing to know that Pain had the Kyuubi right under his nose and be unaware of it.

_“Kurama-sama, when all of this is over, what do you plan to do?”_

The Bijuu pondered over the question, turning it over and over in his head. **_“Perhaps I’ll pass on,”_** he finally said, settling down with his head on his paws. **_“I have no reason to exist in this world of filthy mortals. And you?”_**

 _“I would like to see Shisui and Hikari again,”_ the Uchiha confessed, tone wistful. He had not lied when he said that he had no romantic feelings towards Hikari or towards Shisui, but they were parts of his very soul and their loss was still a large, gaping wound.

If it weren’t for Kurama, it was highly likely that Itachi would have faded away long ago.

Itachi knew that, should he return to Konoha after the completion of his self-assigned mission, they would welcome him back with open arms. The Clan Heads had never believed the fabricated story; his father had even intercepted one of his cats once and sent him supplies.

Sasuke, Itachi was aware, had made it his goal to uncover the truth and bring his brother back, joined by Naruto, Gaara and Karin. The latter trio had come as sort of a surprise, but they apparently saw him as a big brother and refused to believe that he had killed their sister.

Such maturity and compassion from mere children.

But regardless, Itachi couldn’t bring himself to go back. Every corner would remind him of his friends and eventually, it would drive him _insane_.

When his mission was complete, Itachi, along with Kurama, would leave the world to join Shisui and Hikari.

They would be together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it more angsty?  
> Does anyone need tissues?
> 
> _holds out tissue box_
> 
> Posted: 01/12/2020


	5. Little moments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little moments with Hikari, Shisui and Itachi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Narushi](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26435134/comments/364419497).
> 
> I know you asked for Hikari and Shisui, but Itachi wormed his way in and I couldn't resist because I hurt the poor boy in the previous chapters. Hope you like it!
> 
> I also finished this chapter before the update for Overtwisted because I made everyone cry over 'A darker turn', and felt you guys could use a little fluff.
> 
> Happy reading!

Shisui stared at his murky reflection in the mirror, taking in the shadows in his eyes. There were traces of exhaustion in the lines of his face, only visible to the most perceptive of people. He couldn’t be blamed for that; the ANBU mission he had just returned from had not been easy or fun.

 _‘Thinking about it isn’t going to help,’_ the boy scolded himself, splashing water on his face and recoiling a little at the chill. ANBU restrooms didn’t have heating and if he wanted hot water, he would have to go to the showers. Shisui _could_ go there but he wanted out of the ANBU grounds as soon as possible, so he settled for simply making himself presentable; a bath could come later.

He quickly changed into his usual black clothes, keeping only his weapons pouch and kunai holster on him. A shinobi never truly let their guard down after all, even when they were inside their village.

Glancing back at the mirror and nodding in approval at his passable appearance, Shisui used a Shunshin to leave the ANBU quarters. He appeared near the crowded marketplace of Konoha, the civilians barely batting an eye at his sudden appearance, far too used to the quirks of the shinobi that resided in the village.

The hustle and bustle washed over the Uchiha, helping him feel a little bit of normalcy. He took a deep breath and strolled forward leisurely, thinking about what he should do next. There were no missions scheduled for the rest of the day and he didn’t feel like training.

That left going home.

Shisui grimaced at the thought, not really wanting to go back to his cold, still house. He lived alone, having lost both his parents a few months ago. Perhaps he should have been saddened by that, but he had long since known that his father had been very ill and his mother weak, so their deaths had not come as a shock.

_‘Maybe I could go bug Itachi? Or not; he’s probably on a mission at this time of the day.’_

Thinking of Itachi brought to his mind another friend and Shisui perked up, instantly spinning on his heel and heading in a different direction. A quick Shunshin later saw him in front of a house surrounded by trees, hand raised to knock when something registered to him.

The place was unusually silent.

_‘Huh? Is no one home?’_

That was disheartening.

Just as he was about to leave with a heavy heart, a flicker of chakra brushed against his senses and the door opened abruptly.

“Hi, Shisui!”

Hikari grinned at him from the open doorway, bright and cheerful. She was dressed in a plain white shirt and loose knee-length black pants, her hair thrown over one shoulder in a thick braid.

“I thought you were out,” Shisui said dumbly, too stunned by her sudden appearance to think coherently.

The girl blinked, “What made you think that?”

“It was too silent.”

“Ah.”

Hikari snickered into her hand, blue eyes twinkling with mirth at the ridiculous expression on the boy’s face and at the insinuation that the occupants of the house were loud. “The troublemakers are out today. They have a playdate with Shikamaru.”

“Oh.”

Shisui followed the redhead into the house when she beckoned him inside, having recovered from his surprise. “And you didn’t go?”

“Obviously not.”

Rolling his eyes at the snarky reply, the boy pounced on the girl and tackled her to the couch. He started tickling her, grinning when she started laughing uncontrollably.

“Shisui, stop!”

“No way; not until you surrender!”

The sound of the pair’s laughter filled the air, at least until Hikari’s flailing hands hit the Uchiha’s arm and he flinched, hissing in pain. Hikari froze, eyes wide as she stared at the boy above her.

“You’re hurt.”

Shisui didn’t deny the statement, holding his left shoulder tightly. “I guess?”

“You guess?” Hikari echoed him, incredulous. “Shisui, you have a ridiculously high pain tolerance and yet you flinched when I hit you, and lightly at that! Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

“In my defense, I didn’t know I was injured,” he said, a little sheepish as he shifted to let the girl sit up. In hindsight, it was stupid of him to not have checked himself over for any internal injuries before leaving the ANBU quarters. Damn his high pain threshold.

A thin crimson eyebrow twitched and Hikari resisted the urge to smack some sense into the boy, if only because he was already injured. “Take off your shirt.”

“Aww, but Hikari-chan, aren’t you a little too youn-”

“Shisui. Please don’t give me a reason to hit you and take off _your damn shirt_.”

Hikari gave him a sunny smile, eyes crinkled but with a very real threat in her voice. Shisui felt a shiver run down his spine and he complied with a “Yes, ma’am!”, tugging his shirt over his head, leaving him bare-chested.

With a deep breath, Shisui looked at his shoulder, wincing when he saw how red and inflamed it was. _‘How the hell did I not notice?’_

“Hmm…” Hikari hummed, using a diagnostic jutsu to assess the injury. “You haven’t dislocated it,” she muttered under her breath, frowning. “But you have a mild fracture and the broken bone is irritating the muscles, hence the swelling.”

Cool healing chakra washed over the injury, Shisui stiffening at the uncomfortable feeling of muscles knitting back together and the bones shifting under his skin. He held himself as still as he could though, not wanting to disturb the healing. Hikari whispered an apology, noticing his tense posture.

“It’s alright,” he assured her. “It actually isn’t painful, just a little weird.”

Hikari huffed, amused at his reaction to his injury. “I can’t tell you to not get hurt, since that’s a moot point in your line of work, but please take better care of yourself. Your pain tolerance can be both a blessing and a curse; don’t make it into the latter.”

She had a point and Shisui agreed easily, though he couldn’t help but tease, “And here I was hoping you’d be my personal medic.”

“Sure.”

Shisui choked, looking over his shoulder at the girl incredulously, eyes wide. “I was joking!”

That only got him a shrug in response, Hikari focused entirely on her healing. “I don’t mind,” she said absently, running her hand over the boy’s shoulder to take care of the inflammation. “I patch up Kashi-nii all the time; he hates hospitals. Even Tenzo-san sometimes asks for help; adding one more person to the list isn’t a problem. Pretty sure it’s a trait of shinobi to avoid hospitals.”

“You…really?”

“Really.”

Hikari lifted her head to meet Shisui’s gaze, a playful smile on her lips even though there was a serious glint in her eyes. “You can knock on my door at 3 A.M. and I’ll still help, Shisui. No conditions, nothing.”

Shisui stared, unblinking. The thing about shinobi avoiding hospitals was because of a general uneasiness, not feeling safe in the place. But he had long since admitted to himself that he felt at ease in the Uzumaki house, trusting the occupants with his life. And the fact that it was probably defended way better than the village itself was the icing on the cake.

“Oh, and you can use our summons to get them to reverse-summon me to your location or vice-versa, in case of an emergency.”

The girl didn’t wait for an answer, attention already shifting to the task at hand.

There was silence between them for a while, but it was comfortable. Then Shisui recalled something and perked up, “Hey, you never told me why you didn’t go to the Nara, Hikari-chan.”

Hikari hummed, smile audible in her voice as she replied, “Because you were back.”

“Huh? I don’t think I told you when I’d return from my mission,” Shisui mused, pulling his shirt on while marveling at his now pain-free shoulder; it was like the injury had never existed. The redhead’s iryo ninjutsu had improved by leaps and bounds.

“No, but I sensed you earlier in the morning. I was actually about to look for you when you arrived.”

“…just how large is your range?”

Hikari tapped a finger against her chin, thinking about the question. “Up until about a few miles out of Konoha? Larger than that if I concentrate.”

“How the hell are you handling the information overload?”

“It’s never been an issue,” she stared at the awed boy, slightly confused at what she thought was an over-the-top reaction. “Besides, I don’t keep tabs on _everyone_. Just the ones I care about.”

“That means you’re always aware of me.”

“Kind of? Just enough to know you’re fine.”

Shisui grinned. The girl sure had a strange way of caring about people, but it was so _her_ that he didn’t care. “Who else are you watching now?”

Hikari gave him an annoyed look. “You make it sound like I’m spying on people,” she complained. She couldn’t really turn off her sensing, just mute it to an extent. When Shisui stared at her expectantly, she groaned and muttered reluctantly, “The kids, meaning _all_ of them, Manami-san, Itachi, Kashi-nii and Tenzo-san.”

“Aww, you care!”

She swatted at him, turning away huffily but not before Shisui, to his hidden glee, spotted the smile on her face. “Go take a bath or shower, idiot. You stink.”

* * *

Shisui came down the stairs, drying his hair with a towel. It wasn’t the first time he had showered at the Uzumaki house; there had been times when he had managed to convince Kakashi for a spar and both males had ended up sweaty and dirty by the time they were done. Hikari had only rolled her eyes at them and shooed them away to clean up.

Sometimes he wondered if the girl had the patience of a saint to deal with rambunctious children and the older boys every day.

The enticing smell of food made the Uchiha drift towards the kitchen, eyebrow rising when he noticed that there were three place settings. He had thought it was only him and Hikari in the house.

“Hikari-chan? Are we expecting anyone else for lunch?”

“Itachi should be arriving anytime soon!”

Shisui’s eyebrow rose higher at that statement and he popped into the kitchen, finding the girl frying something in a pan. “Did you tell him I was back?”

“No,” Hikari replied, switching off the stove and plating the fish she had just been frying. “Sasuke managed to get Fugaku-san to train him, so Itachi gives them space and comes here for lunch. He said that he didn’t want to intrude on their bonding time.”

“Huh.”

Fugaku, while he had trained Itachi, had not spent much time with him apart from teaching him the basics. It had been Shisui, who had been a Genin at the time, who had trained the Uchiha heir. Then again, Itachi was a genius and it had been just after wartime, so Fugaku had been running missions back-to-back.

“And that would be him now.”

As soon as the words left the Uzumaki’s mouth, there was a knock and the sound of the door opening before closing with a soft click.

A pause.

“Hikari, is Shisui back?”

Itachi’s quiet voice rang through the air, something like anticipation in it. Grinning, Shisui dropped his towel on the back of a chair, stepping into the living room just as the younger boy turned the corner.

“Welcome back, Shisui,” Itachi greeted, eyes lighting up as a smile curved his lips. He didn’t protest when Shisui tugged him into a hug, far too used to the tactile nature of his friends. “When did you return?”

“A bit after dawn, I think? Not really sure.”

Shisui’s grin took on a teasing edge, making the younger boy eye him warily. “So what’s this I hear about lunch dates with Hikari-chan? Did you two get together without telling me? How cruel!”

“…date?”

“Stop teasing him,” Hikari ordered, poking her head out of the kitchen and pointing a finger at Shisui with narrowed eyes. “I already gave you an explanation.”

“But it’s fun watching Itachi blank out like that!”

“Maybe for you but not so much for him, not to mention me.”

“Fine, fine.”

Lunch was a peaceful affair, the trio content to savor their food than engage in conversation, apart from a few throwaway comments. Shisui and Itachi handled the clean-up, insisting that it was the least they could do after Hikari made them lunch.

“Done?”

Hikari looked up from her book when the boys emerged from the kitchen; she was sitting on the floor with her legs stretched out in front of her, leaning against the couch.

“Yep. What are you reading?”

She turned her attention back to the book, grimacing slightly. “A rather boring book on medicinal herbs,” she answered, turning a page. “Shikaku-san said it would be useful, but I’m beginning to think that he’s planning on killing me with sheer boredom.”

The boys settled on either side of Hikari, leaning in to see the contents of the book. Sure enough, it was about herbs, the text so tiny it was almost illegible. It seemed to be rather comprehensive but it did make for a boring read.

“I’m surprised you haven’t dropped it yet.”

“Eh, I probably will eventually. I’m just skimming through the thing and noting down anything that sounds interesting.”

Shisui made a sound of acknowledgement. He eyed the nonchalant girl, then shrugged and laid down flat on the floor, head on Hikari’s lap.

“This okay?”

“Asking that after making yourself comfortable?” Hikari snarked, nevertheless resting a hand on the Uchiha’s head and running her fingers through his curls. “It’s fine; go to sleep if you feel tired.”

Itachi watched as his cousin drifted off into sleep, subconsciously curling up closer to the redhead. “This is the most relaxed I’ve seen him.”

“Hmm?”

“Shisui,” he clarified, making eye contact with the Uzumaki. Another strange thing about her; most people never met the eyes of an Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan, fearing that they’d be put under a Genjutsu. But Hikari’s gaze never once faltered; she either trusted them not to use their abilities on her or was confident that she could dispel any Genjutsu.

Itachi wasn’t quite sure which one was the truth.

“Even at the Compound, he’s always tense. He doesn’t show it but I can tell,” Itachi continued, bowing his head a little. “Thank you for everything, Hikari.”

Hikari chuckled, throwing an arm around the boy’s shoulder and pulling him against her side. “No need to thank me,” she stated, squeezing his shoulder. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Itachi nodded and before he could second-guess himself, hesitantly rested his head on Hikari’s shoulder. When her only reaction was to shift her hand from his shoulder to his hair, he relaxed and closed his eyes. It was calming in her presence, for she was simply _there_ , without any judgement or expectations.

It felt freeing.

Before long, Hikari heard Itachi’s breaths even out and smiled to herself. For all they acted mature, the boys still craved affection. She knew that despite how relaxed the Uchiha clan had become, they were still stiff in their interactions. The boys had to hold themselves to a certain standard at the Compound, only having the chance to drop their walls around her. But she didn’t mind, happy to indulge Shisui and Itachi whenever they wanted a hug or a cuddle.

Withdrawing her hand from Shisui’s hair for a moment, Hikari closed her book and placed it aside. She stifled a giggle when the older Uchiha pressed against her stomach subconsciously, patting his head again.

A glance out the window told her that it was still too early for Manami, Naruto and Karin to return. Hikari took in the two sleeping boys and the peaceful atmosphere, deciding that she would like a nap herself.

That was how Manami found them, when she returned with a tired Naruto and Karin. She ushered the kids past the sleeping trio and up the stairs with as little noise as possible, settling them in their rooms before sneaking back down with a camera. No way was she passing up the chance to take a picture of an adorable sight.

Itachi and Hikari were pressed together, the boy’s head nestled in the crook of the girl’s neck while hers laid atop his. Hikari’s hand had slipped down from Itachi’s shoulder at some point and the two had somehow laced their fingers together. On the redhead’s lap was Shisui, an arm wrapped around her waist. Hikari was cradling the older Uchiha’s head with her free hand, the hold gentle and intended to keep him close.

Manami giggled, already planning to give a copy of the picture to Mikoto. The Uchiha Matriarch absolutely loved it when her first son, nephew and pseudo-niece did something cute, even more when it included all three of them. She already had quite the collection of pictures.

Deciding to let them sleep, Manami grabbed a few blankets and draped them over the trio, smiling fondly at them before going upstairs for a nap of her own.

It was peaceful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Send me more prompts!
> 
> Edit: Should have mentioned this before, but this chapter takes place in the Twisting Reality universe, a few months before Gaara's arrival.
> 
> Posted: 03/12/2020


	6. Taking ‘dense’ to a whole new level

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A subtly matchmaking Itachi, featuring an overprotective Shisui.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Astraea07](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27634679/comments/368455541) and [Sara](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27634679/comments/368452070).
> 
> I mixed both of your requests into one chapter.  
> Hope it meets your expectations!
> 
> Happy reading~

Itachi walked into the living room of the Uzumaki house, only to stumble upon a strange sight. All of the furniture was pushed to the side, the resulting empty space occupied by a bunch of Genin. They seemed to be huddled over something, torn and crumpled papers scattered around them.

“No, that wouldn’t work-”

“How do you know-”

“They’re not-”

“Oh, please-”

Eyebrows rising in confusion, Itachi cut across the group’s mumbling to ask, “What are you doing?”

The Genin startled and looked up with wide eyes. Shikamaru and Hinata were the only ones to react calmly, the Nara opening one sleepy eye to stare at the Uchiha while the Hyuuga smiled in greeting; Naruto, Gaara, Karin, Sasuke, Sakura and Ino’s heads whipped up so fast, Itachi was a little concerned for their necks.

“Nii-san!” Sasuke exclaimed, hurriedly hiding the papers he had in his hands behind his back. Flushing a little in embarrassment when his brother eyed him suspiciously, he tried to change the topic. “What are you doing here?”

Itachi gave the younger Uchiha a _look_ , hiding a smile when Sasuke squirmed. He knew very well what the other was trying to do, but two could play at that game. “Shinobi business,” Itachi answered with a devious smirk, clearly learnt from a certain female Uzumaki. “Now, what about you?”

The six Genin on the floor exchanged nervous glances; they didn’t want to say anything but were also aware that Itachi could and would make them spill. “We’re trying to set up Hikari-san and Shisui-san!” Ino burst out, batting away Sakura’s hands when the girl tried to hush her. “This has gone on for too long!”

“Set up?”

“They’re matchmaking,” Shikamaru explained from where he was sprawled out on one of the couches, fed up with his friends’ antics. He might consider Naruto his best friend but there was a limit to the Nara’s patience. He was losing precious cloud-watching time, damn it!

“Shika!” the blond Uzumaki whined. “Why did you say that?! Now Itachi-nii will tell Hikari-nee and Shisui-nii and all of our plans will be ruined!”

“Sorry, Naruto, but do you really think a bunch of Genin could successfully manipulate a couple of Jounin? Especially those two?”

Karin butted in at that point, hands on her hips as she glared at the unrepentant Nara. “We still have to try! They clearly like each other but they don’t make a move at all!”

While the kids were arguing, Itachi took a seat on the couch where Hinata had been sitting, accepting the cup of tea the Hyuuga handed him with a nod of thanks. He watched the Genin with amusement, sipping on his tea. It wasn’t everyday he stumbled upon something so entertaining.

After a few minutes filled with the twelve-year-olds bickering, seemingly having forgotten their unexpected intruder, Itachi cleared his throat, attracting their attention. “I would have thought that Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun and Karin-san would have gone down the overprotective siblings route,” he said, looking at the three children questioningly.

Sakura and Ino were probably in on it just to take part in the chaos, lured by the promise of romance. And Sasuke was most likely looking to pull one over Shisui.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, expression petulant. “Yeah, but Hikari-nee has never shown interest in _anyone_ ,” he grumbled. Nodding in agreement, Gaara continued, “Nee-san is only around you and Shisui-nii-san, and I don’t think you like her that way, Itachi-nii-san.”

Said Uchiha inclined his head, accepting Gaara’s point. Itachi loved Hikari dearly, but she was a sister to him.

“Nee-san has tons of people vying for her attention,” Karin said, pushing up her glasses as she gathered a few of the papers scattered around her. “But most of them are stupid civilians who only like her for her looks and the shinobi wouldn’t like a girl who could put them through the ground, even if they are attracted to her. Shallow idiots.”

That was something Itachi could agree with.

“Still, why Hikari and Shisui?”

“Because they’re so cute together!” Sakura and Ino squealed in unison, their eyes practically sparkling. “They share secretive smiles, hold hands at every opportunity and literally spend all their time together!”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the two girls, “Nii-san does that with them too.”

“But Itachi-san’s connection with them is purely platonic! He even admitted it!”

That devolved into yet another argument, all of them shouting reasons why Hikari and Shisui should be together and that _their_ opinion was clearly the best.

Itachi hid a smile behind his cup of tea when Shikamaru groaned and covered his face with a cushion, vainly hoping to block out the madness. The older Uchiha looked at the Hyuuga sitting demurely next to him, the girl completely at ease with the situation.

“What do you think, Hinata-san?”

The dark blue haired girl swallowed the piece of cinnamon roll she was chewing and directed her attention to the teen next to her. “I think Hikari-nee-san and Shisui-san would be a good match,” she admitted with a smile. “But despite what the others think, a romantic relationship wouldn’t change anything much between them, apart from putting a label on whatever they have together.”

“Quite,” Itachi agreed, mildly surprised at the girl’s insight. But it wasn’t anything new to him, since he too had had the same thought many times. He turned back to the still arguing Genin, wondering how long they were going to keep at it. “Hikari is not one for shallow connections, so it is unlikely she would seek a relationship for the sake of it. And I am well-aware that Shisui is… _pining_.”

Hinata giggled at the faint grimace on the teen’s face. “He really is, isn’t he?”

“Hinata-san, all of the clans are betting on whether he’ll confess or embarrass himself so badly that Hikari would finally get the hint, take pity on him and ask him out herself.”

“The latter, I think?”

“More probable than the former,” Itachi mused. He eyed the group of Genin in front of him, “They’re not going to stop anytime soon, are they?”

“Not at all.”

The Uchiha and the Hyuuga shared a commiserating glance.

“Do they know that none of their plans have the faintest chance of succeeding?”

“I doubt it, Itachi-san. For all of their brilliance, Hikari-nee-san and Shisui-san can be quite dense. They would never see the meaning behind any of the attempts Naruto-kun and the others make.”

That was true, but that didn’t mean _Itachi_ didn’t have an idea.

* * *

Shisui glared as yet another man whistled and leered at the girl walking in front of him, fingers itching to grab a kunai and carve that disgusting expression off of that man’s face, _painfully_.

Maybe pour in some acid, for good measure.

“What are you angry at now?”

Hikari spun on her heel, walking backwards as she looked questioningly at her companion. She didn’t have to see the dark glint in the Uchiha’s eyes to know it was there; Shisui had been radiating a dark aura all evening, his chakra spiking minutely every now and then. A normal person wouldn’t have noticed it, but Hikari was a powerful sensor and also very attuned to the Uchiha’s moods.

“It’s nothing, Hikari-chan.”

“Shisui, _please_ ,” the redhead sighed, expression distinctly weary.

They were in one of the smaller villages near Konoha, on a mission. Their goal was to subdue and capture or kill a group of bandits that was capturing women and children to sell them as slaves. The bandits operated on a large scale, their men working out of multiple villages so that they didn’t get caught. Recently, their activities had risen in the current village and so a group of shinobi had been hired to deal with the bandits.

The mission had been assigned to Shisui, Itachi and Hikari, the reasoning being that the three were young and attractive while also strong enough that bandits wouldn’t pose a problem. In other words, they were bait.

_Especially_ Hikari.

The sixteen-year-old was beautiful, lithe and curvaceous with a charm that drew people in. Her sparkling blue eyes and crimson hair shining like rubies in the sun were generally seen as exotic in Hi no Kuni. With her long legs and smooth, unblemished skin, there were too many perverts who drooled over her.

_‘And the oblivious idiot doesn’t even see it!’_ Shisui despaired internally, knowing that she was picked for the mission with him and Itachi because her appearance would definitely interest the bandits. Right now, Hikari was wearing a short white kimono dress in dark blue and white, paired with black thigh-high stockings and boots. Her hair was held back in a low ponytail, with two thick locks framing her face.

Even a blind man would call her attractive.

“It’s just…” he trailed off, gesturing towards her. When Hikari only looked confused, he sighed. “Hikari-chan, you know _you’re_ the bait on this mission, right?”

The redhead blinked and slowed down, walking next to Shisui. “Aren’t we all? Even if Itachi is currently out scouting.”

The younger Uchiha had promptly ditched his team the instant they had arrived in the village, saying that he was going to check out the area and that Hikari and Shisui should walk around the village to see if they could get themselves on the bandits’ radar.

“Hikari-chan… You. Are. Beautiful.”

Shisui stressed each word, valiantly suppressing the blush that tried to make a home on his cheeks. He liked the girl…well, okay, he _loved_ her. Anko always had the time of her life making fun of him for pining after the redhead, while also taunting him for being spineless and not asking her out. Considering the knowing and pitying looks many people shot him whenever Hikari was in the vicinity, his huge crush was obvious.

To all but the dense girl next to him.

Hikari’s brow furrowed, thrown off by the strange inflection in the twenty-year-old’s voice but Shisui ploughed on before she could say anything, “You don’t see it but many others do. Pretty much half the people who approach you want to date you and the other half want you in their bed. Do you even realize that those idiots are _flirting_ with you?”

The girl flushed a deep red at the Uchiha’s choice of words, the color of her burning cheeks matching her hair. “Stupid Shisui,” she hissed, smacking his arm and making him yelp indignantly. “Did you have to say it like that?!”

“If I wanted to get it into your thick head, yes,” Shisui retorted, rubbing the spot she had hit. It probably wouldn’t bruise -Hikari hadn’t hit that hard- but it hurt a bit. “When will you understand that fact?”

“I don’t look _that_ good,” Hikari muttered, picking on her sleeve in a nervous manner. Her blush had mostly faded, but there was a hint of pink on her cheeks that was unfairly cute. “You and Itachi are the good-looking ones on this team, not me. Stupid Uchiha genes, making you all unfairly pretty.”

Shisui stared at her incredulously, almost gaping at the sheer amount of self-doubt in her voice, dripping from each word. He filed away what she had said about him and instead focused on her first statement. “You seriously think that?”

“I suppose…”

“You-”

“Hey, pretty girlie!”

Shisui and Hikari’s heads snapped around at the yell, the Uchiha annoyed at both the interruption and the idiot who had butted in.

A man staggered towards them, his leering eyes focused on the redhead, looking her up and down with a sleazy grin on his face. “Boyfriend mad at you, huh? Why don’t I show you a good time, girlie? Just dump the prude!”

Hikari wrinkled her nose at the stench of alcohol wafting off the clearly plastered man, the half-full bottle clenched in his hand not helping her impression of him. “No thanks,” she snapped at the drunk, taking a step back. Even if she wanted to deck him, she still had to maintain her cover as a normal civilian.

“A feisty one, eh?” the man sniggered, chugging down the contents of his bottle and tossing it to the side. “All the better for me!”

He lunged at the redhead, lecherous eyes staring at her chest, hands raised and obviously aiming to grope her. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten about the enraged man at her side.

Shisui snarled, sliding in front of the girl protectively. His left hand shot out to grab the drunkard’s wrist, snapping it with a neat twist before punching him in the face. “Stay away from her,” he spat, voice dark and dangerous, ushering Hikari backwards while covering her form with his body, even if he knew she could protect herself. “Try this again and next time you won’t escape with just a broken wrist and a few missing teeth.”

The Uchiha spun around, grabbing a stunned Hikari’s hand and stomped away, pulling the bewildered girl behind him. “Come on, Hikari-chan. Let’s go back to our inn; I think that’s enough walking around for the evening.”

The two walked away, leaving behind a groaning man with a bloody face and clutching his broken wrist, whimpering and sprawled on the street.

* * *

Back in their room at the inn, Hikari watched from her spot on the bed as Shisui paced the length of the room, muttering darkly under his breath. She hugged a pillow to herself, thinking back on the words he had told her earlier that evening.

She knew that the two of them were very close, having known each other for almost ten years. She would admit, if only to herself, that she had a crush on Shisui. He was handsome, funny and kind, the kind of person any girl would want. If she was like any other girl, she would be fangirling over him.

But Hikari wasn’t that shallow and didn’t like him for superficial features. She liked him because of his attitude, his convictions and personality. She had seen him at his highs and lows, stuck with him through everything. She saw him for who he really was at his core and fell for him.

The realization of her feelings for him had not affected her attitude towards him, Hikari content to keep them to herself. Not once did she hope for anything, happy with their current status quo. Shisui saw her as a good friend and there was no need to change their connection.

But now she had to wonder if she should have looked deeper.

For Shisui’s vehement insistence for her to see her own worth went a little beyond a friend’s concern.

“Shisui?”

Hikari winced at how timid her voice came out but it was successful in attracting the Uchiha’s attention. He stopped pacing, staring at her for a moment then leant against the wall, right opposite her. “What is it?”

“Earlier…before that man interrupted us…what were you about to say?”

Shisui stared for a moment in confusion, expression clearing when he recalled what she was talking about. “Ah, that,” he cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I wanted to ask why you think so low of yourself.”

“Oh.”

There was an uncomfortable silence after that short exchange, the two looking at everything except each other. Finally, Hikari sighed and patted the bed next to her, in a clear invitation for the Uchiha to sit.

When Shisui did sit down, back ramrod straight, she sighed again and clutched the pillow in her arms tighter, burying her face in it. “I guess it’s because of how I grew up the first time around,” she murmured into the pillow, voice so low that Shisui only caught it because of their proximity. “You know how I was shunned because of my status as a Jinchuuriki?”

The Uchiha nodded; Hikari had told him and Itachi about the truth of her existence years ago, along with a few personal details when the boys had needled her for it. Her first childhood was abysmal and that was putting it lightly.

“Most of my life I was called worthless and a monster. I didn’t know why and when I did…it just made things a whole lot worse.”

Hikari raised her head, staring blankly into the distance. “First I had to fight for my existence to be acknowledged, then there was the whole thing with Sasuke and then I dived straight into a war. There wasn’t really any time to just relax and have fun. To find myself.”

The aftermath of the battle with Pain had brought her the acknowledgement she had craved, people vying for her attention wherever she went. It had felt good for a time but eventually she had gotten tired of it, the emptiness in her heart never easing.

“…to try to undo all the damage that had been inflicted on me.”

Shisui turned sharply at that, lips pressed in a thin line at the self-depreciating tone in the girl’s voice. He wanted to protest, to assure her that she was more that she thought she was, but he didn’t open his mouth.

Not yet.

She needed to get it off her chest first.

Unaware of the Uchiha’s thoughts, Hikari continued, “I didn’t understand what it meant to be female, apart from the physical differences. The girls would call me ugly, stupid and all sorts of mean names…and it just stuck. I didn’t know how else to look at myself.”

She shook her head as if to get rid of her unhappy thoughts and smiled faintly at Shisui. “I still don’t know,” she whispered, hesitantly leaning against him. “Perhaps someone might have flirted with me even back then. Perhaps someone might have been interested in me. I didn’t know how to see that and frankly wouldn’t have cared. I had things I wanted to do and no one could stop me.”

“And now?”

Hikari laughed, elbowing the Uchiha who grinned down at her teasingly. “Apparently I’ve been flirted with, according to you. Since I didn’t realize that, what do you think?”

“You’re dense and oblivious,” Shisui stated cheerfully, internally relieved that the redhead had lost the gloom and doom from earlier. A smile suited her way better than a blank expression. “No wonder you hardly responded to anyone. But anyway, _are_ you interested in a relationship? You know, romantically?”

“Depends. If I like and trust the other person, yes.”

“I see.”

There was silence, comfortable since neither of them was stewing in their thoughts and emotions.

Suddenly, something occurred to Hikari and she grinned. Poking the Uchiha until he met her gaze, she said, “You called me beautiful.”

Shisui reddened instantly, having hoped that she had forgotten that. He spluttered, flailing as the redhead laughed at him and he tried to respond, failing at that since nothing but broken words left his mouth.

Hikari looked delighted, a cheeky smile splitting her cheeks as she kept teasing him. “You think I’m pretty, huh? Do you like me, Shisui~?”

“Argh, yes! I like you! Happy?!”

Mouth snapping shut at the declaration from the Uchiha, Hikari stared with wide shocked eyes at him, who also looked startled at what he had accidentally revealed.

“I…er, just ignore what I said,” Shisui stammered, chuckling nervously as he scrambled off the bed and tried to leave the room, completely mortified. But a delicate hand curling around his wrist stopped him and he looked back hesitantly, surprised to find that Hikari was just as red as he was.

“…did you mean that?”

“Yes. I’ve liked you for a long time, Hikari-chan.”

It didn’t even occur to Shisui to lie to her, not ashamed of his feelings for her. And he couldn’t when she looked at him with such uncertainty in her eyes.

A few seconds passed as Hikari processed the words, a pleased smile curling her lips as it sunk in. “I see.”

When Hikari didn’t say anything else for a long time, Shisui fidgeted on the spot. He couldn’t escape since she was still holding on to him but it was embarrassing to just stand there. If Anko heard ever about this, the teasing would never ever end.

“Hikari-chan, say something…please?”

“I like you too.”

What?

“…really?” Shisui asked faintly, wondering if he was hearing things or if his brain was making things up. No way was his luck that good, to have the girl he liked, like him back.

Hikari rolled her eyes and pulled the stunned Uchiha down, releasing the pillow she had been holding to wrap her arms around his neck instead. Shisui’s arms automatically returned the embrace, making her smile and bury her face in his shoulder. “Really. I _may_ have liked you for a while.”

“Oh.”

“Hmm.”

“This doesn’t feel real…”

“It’s very real but if you need more assurance, you can take me out on a date when we get back to Konoha.”

Shisui drew back, staring at the amused redhead blankly. “I…seriously?”

“Where did the charming and suave Shisui go?” Hikari snickered, pinching the Uchiha’s cheek. “I’d have thought you would be all cool and smooth. Well, I like this cute side too.”

The reality of the situation finally sunk in and Shisui jumped off the bed, swinging the girl in his arms around while laughing, causing Hikari to squeak and cling to him.

“Shisui!”

“Sorry, sorry; I’m just so happy!”

* * *

When Itachi climbed into the room via the window hours later, he was met with a pillow to the face.

“Hikari, Shisui,” he greeted calmly, as if he hadn’t just been whacked with the pillow he was now holding in his hand.

“Had fun interrogating the bandits?” Hikari accused drily, hands on her hips as she glared at the seventeen-year-old. She had wondered where Itachi had disappeared to, when the euphoria of realizing that her feelings for Shisui were returned faded. Extending her senses told her that he was in battle and had been for a while.

That led her and Shisui to realize that they had probably been set up.

“Of course. I have information on the bandits’ other bases; we can raid those tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Shisui replied in a tone matching Hikari’s, shooting the stink-eye at his smirking cousin. “And why were you doing that when you were supposed to be only scouting?”

Itachi shrugged, pulling out the chair at the desk and sitting down. “I had to give you two time alone. And I see that it worked.”

To anyone else, the changed dynamics between Shisui and Hikari would not have been visible. But to Itachi who knew them better than his own self, he could sense it. The way Hikari was just that tiny bit more relaxed and the way Shisui angled his body almost imperceptibly towards the redhead were tell-tale signs.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. We’re together now and all that,” Hikari muttered, waving her hand dismissively. “What brought this on anyway? It’s not like you to interfere; you’re the type to simply watch us stumble around in the dark while smiling.”

“The children started it,” the Uchiha Heir revealed, laughing a little at the two’s blank expressions. “Sasuke, Naruto-kun and the rest of their friends were formulating matchmaking plans. Unfortunately for them, they wouldn’t have worked on you.”

“So you took it into your own hands?”

Itachi shrugged. “I’m fairly sure Hikari would have figured it out on her own eventually but Shisui’s pining was becoming annoying.” He pointedly ignored the indignant squawk from the other Uchiha, keeping his gaze fixed on the girl, who was valiantly holding back the smile that threatened to break out. “I simply saved you the embarrassment.”

Hikari laughed and shook her head, far too amused to be annoyed at Itachi or even the kids. She walked out of the room saying that she was going to get them dinner, chuckling all the while.

When the door closed behind her, Itachi turned to his cousin. “Look on the bright side, Shisui,” he told him.

“And that is that even supposed to mean?” Shisui complained, throwing himself on one of the beds and sprawled out over the blankets, one arm over his eyes.

“You can tell her overprotective family that they were planning on setting you up with Hikari first.”

Shisui froze, dark eyes widening as he realized just what Itachi was talking about.

“…I am _so_ dead.”

“Perhaps Hikari will protect you?”

“Itachi!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a standalone, not really part of Twisting Reality or Overtwisted.
> 
> On a side note: IMPORTANT!  
> How many would be interested in a fourth installment in this series, 'Quantum Travels' (not sure on the name, I'm open to suggestions), featuring Shisui, Itachi and Hikari hopping across time and dimensions?  
> It will essentially be a series of one-shots that explore the trio at various points in time throughout the entire Naruto verse, from the Warring Clans era or even from the Rikudo Sennin's time and up until Boruto, but since I don't watch Boruto, I won't be writing anything for that unless requested or I get an interesting idea of my own.  
> Also, it will have a three-way relationship, Shisui x Itachi x Hikari.  
> I don't plan to introduce it into Twisting Reality or Overtwisted (they will be purely Shisui x Hikari) but I think some of you are interested in the possibility of a triad.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> Posted: 13/12/2020


	7. Taking a tumble through time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Minato travels to the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Ally](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27634679/comments/368467353).

“When will you learn not to touch stuff you know nothing about?!”

“Shut up! It’s not like you weren’t curious either!”

“Please don’t fight, guys…”

Minato sighed as he watched his team, Kakashi and Obito sniping at each other like usual while Rin tried to play peacemaker. While he normally would have helped Rin calm the boys, he was a little irritated himself. The Uchiha had found a strange seal carved into a stone, cleverly hidden under some thick shrubbery.

Instead of being cautious, he had touched it and also channeled some chakra into it, causing an unexpected chain reaction. Stones with similar seals had lit up around them and they had been enveloped in a flash of blinding light.

When it had died down, the four members of Team Minato found themselves in a forest clearing like the one they had just been in, but the trees were older and placed differently. The seal network had remained though, and Minato had studied it but it had proven beyond his current level. All he could understand was that it was related to space-time and transportation.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Minato cut in when the boys took battle poses, voice unusually hard as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Kakashi and Obito stopped in their tracks, having the grace to look guilty, and Rin sighed in relief. “First things first, we find out where we are. I think we’re still in Hi no Kuni but-”

The Namikaze cut himself off, tensing as he shifted himself to stand in front of his team. The three children were initially confused until the sound of ruffling leaves and muffled voices reached their ears and they also tensed, pulling out kunai in expectation of an attack.

“I _know_ it’s this way, who’s the sensor here? Certainly not _you two_.”

A feminine voice reached their ears and Team Minato prepared themselves, hands gripped tight around their kunai.

A pale hand appeared out of the leaves, pushing aside the branches to clear a path. The next thing the four saw was a head of crimson hair, in a very familiar shade. The newly arrived girl appeared to have been shouting over her shoulder and she turned to face forwards, freezing in mid-motion when her eyes landed on the group in the clearing.

“Kushina-nee?” Obito asked in confusion, yelping when Kakashi smacked him. “What was that for, Bakashi?!”

“Idiot,” the Hatake hissed, not taking his eyes off the still frozen redhead. “Kushina-nee has _violet_ eyes; this girl has blue!”

That statement got the girl to unfreeze, an expression of exasperation taking over her features as she smacked her forehead with her palm. Much to the confusion of Team Minato, she sighed and stepped fully into the clearing, giving them a small but genuine smile.

“Hikari-chan? What is it?”

Two more people stepped out behind her, their distinctive features marking them as part of the Uchiha Clan. Minato and Obito could swear they had never seen those two before though, even if the one with long hair had some resemblance to Uchiha Fugaku.

They froze, much like the girl had done earlier, wide eyes fixed on Minato’s face.

“Am I dreaming?” the one with curly hair said slowly, taking in each member of Team Minato. The other male replied, voice dry as a desert, “If you are, then we are all sharing the same dream.”

“Shut up,” the girl ordered the two males, a thin eyebrow twitching. “I swear….Kakashi-nii, get down here!”

Minato startled, eyes flickering to his confused student before returning to focus on the girl, who looked a lot like Kushina. A person, a Jounin going by their flak jacket, flickering into the clearing distracted him though, before he could address the girl and all eyes turned to the newcomer.

Vaguely registering Obito choking behind him, Minato stared with shock at someone who could be called an older version of Kakashi; they had the same hair and mask, were identical down to the lightning natured chakra his student possessed.

The red-haired girl -Hikari, the Uchiha called her- glared at the tall shinobi, aiming a punch at him. He danced out of the way before it could connect, hands raised in surrender. “What did I do this time?”

“Remember the seal array you activated a little while ago? Look at what, or rather, _who_ it brought here.”

Older Kakashi shot a sheepish eye-smile at the frowning girl then looked at Team Minato, doing a double-take when he registered who he was looking at.

“ _Sensei_?!”

“Does that mean that guy really is Kakashi?” Obito asked, unable to stay quiet any longer. He couldn’t even be scolded for talking; the people they had met weren’t the slightest bit hostile and he knew it wasn’t a Genjutsu. He eyed his teammates, Kakashi looking like he had swallowed a lemon and Rin was gaping.

“Yes, he is,” the pretty redhead answered, smiling at him. It was Obito’s turn to gape, not at his suspicions being confirmed but at the clear fondness in the girl’s voice.

“Let me introduce everyone,” she continued, gesturing to the group gathered around her. “Uchiha Itachi,” she pointed to the teen with long black hair in a ponytail, who nodded in greeting, “Uchiha Shisui,” the other Uchiha waved, grinning, “and you all know Hatake Kakashi.”

“As for me, I’m Uzumaki Hikari…” the girl trailed off, taking in Team Minato’s dumbfounded expression. She met their shocked teacher’s eyes and gave him a faint smile, tinged with a strange sadness. “Or well, I suppose Namikaze Hikari would be correct as well.”

* * *

“I think you broke them, Hikari-chan,” Shisui remarked; their unexpected visitors were frozen in place, staring with wide eyes at the redhead. None of them had predicted that they would meet the not-yet-Yondaime Hokage and his team when they had decided to investigate the strange flare of chakra that had erupted seconds after Kakashi had accidentally triggered that seal array.

Hikari simply shrugged. “It’s not a lie and I’m pretty sure they’re smart enough to put the pieces together.”

“I think our visitors have recovered from their shock,” Itachi interjected mildly, leaning against a nearby tree. He had long since gotten used to strange occurrences, something he attributed to Hikari. He certainly had never experienced such things before meeting her.

“Time travel?” Minato whispered, drinking in the sight of the girl in front of him. She looked so much like Kushina, but there were differences he could pick out. Her eyes were the same ones he saw whenever he looked in the mirror, her sharp cheekbones similar to his as well.

“Maybe? We can’t really tell, since there’s a very big possibility that the timeline will diverge when you return to your own time.”

The older Kakashi stiffened, turning sharply to look at the girl. “Is that true?”

“Time is fickle, Kashi-nii. Things may change, they may not. But their knowledge of this encounter, as impossible as it might have been, is likely to affect events.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Obito shouted while waving his arms wildly, interrupting the conversation. He glared, cheeks puffing up in annoyance. “How can you prove that this is time travel?!”

Itachi chose to answer that, arms crossed over his chest. He appeared to be the epitome of calm and Hikari knew him well enough to notice that he was amused. “One, I’m sure you know that this is not a Genjutsu and there’s no point in creating an elaborate setup for the sake of fooling you,” he said, gesturing with his head to the side, specifically the Hokage Monument. “Second, if the timeline is the same, then you should have a young Shisui running around and I may have also been born.”

“I don’t know what’s more impressive, you making your explanation sound like you’re talking about the weather or you talking about your birth so passively,” Hikari eyed the younger Uchiha with some amusement, making him smirk.

“Sensei became Hokage?!” Rin squeaked, surprise on her young face at seeing her teacher’s head carved into the mountain above Konoha. Minato looked equally as astounded, his shoulders relaxing at the knowledge that he and his team were in a safe place, even if it was not the Konoha he knew.

Still, to confirm it, Minato closed his eyes and stretched out his senses, seeking familiar chakra signatures. He found quite a few but…

Blue eyes snapped open, meeting an identical pair; there was a warning in the second pair, telling him to keep whatever he had learnt to himself. He swallowed harshly, giving a slight nod to say that he understood and ruthlessly suppressing his burning questions.

Thankfully, Rin distracted him, tugging on his sleeve and asking, “Sensei, is it okay to talk to these people?”

“I think so,” the blond man managed a smile, hiding his rampant emotions from his team. They didn’t need to know anything about his realizations yet, or if possible, not at all. The girl brightened and made a beeline for the only other girl in the clearing. Rin wanted to talk to the older Kakashi but he looked uncomfortable and she didn’t want to press.

“I’m Nohara Rin,” the brunette introduced herself, holding out a hand. “Nice to meet you, umm…Namikaze-san?”

Hikari grinned, shaking the younger girl’s hand. “Call me Hikari. Nice to meet you too.”

Obito was the next to approach, staring at the amused teenager with a scrutinizing gaze. “Are you really Sensei’s daughter? That means he married Kushina-nee?”

Minato choked and turned red, flustered at how easily the youngest Uchiha there had thrown out the question, while also embarrassed by the insinuation. “O-Obito!”

Shisui burst out laughing, supporting himself on Itachi’s shoulder, whose expression had remained amused. “You really have no tact, do you, kiddo?”

“Just answer the question!”

“Yes to both,” Itachi replied before Hikari could, making Minato’s blush deepen while Hikari joined Shisui in his laughter. “I think the resemblance speaks for itself, does it not?”

“I guess so…what rank are you guys? Wait, you’re all shinobi, right?”

Older Kakashi finally unfroze and gave the boy an eye-smile. “Of course they are. You’re looking at the best Jounin team in Konoha.”

Hikari, Shisui and Itachi smiled at the clear hint of pride in the man’s voice. They hardly ever sought recognition for their strength but it was nice to hear it once in a while. “And he’s a sensei now,” Hikari added in her own bit, pointing at the older Hatake. “He runs missions with us now and then, if necessary, but he’s raising his own team of Genin.”

“More like the team from hell,” Kakashi retorted drily. “Those three get up to mischief whenever I turn around and I blame you entirely.”

Hikari only grinned, obviously unrepentant.

“Woah,” Obito looked between his grumpy teammate and the older version, unable to reconcile the two of them. It was too hard for him to connect the easy-going man capable of making jokes with his rule-obsessed teammate. “You’ve really changed, Kakashi.”

“Hmm.”

Shisui clapped his hands, successfully attracting the attention of the younger kids and their sensei when he noticed that their Kakashi was starting to feel uncomfortable. “So, what do you guys want to do now? Anything but going into the village, which we kind of have to avoid, since, you know, you guys shouldn’t be here.”

“Is it fine to not report us?” Minato asked, brow furrowed in confusion. “The flare of chakra we arrived in was rather powerful. Won’t the village be concerned if the cause is unknown?”

Itachi shook his head, making eye contact with the blond. “The four of us always train inside a powerful barrier,” he explained. “The amount of chakra we throw around could be dangerous to anyone below Jounin-level. Because of that, no one outside the barrier would have noticed your arrival.”

Minato sweat-dropped, mentally revising his opinion of the quartet in front of him. Despite being young, they were clearly powerful to be required only to train inside a barrier. “I see. Sorry, are we interrupting you then?”

“We were just taking a break. It’s fine.”

Thanking the teenager for answering his questions, Minato looked around. Both Kakashi were on opposite sides of the clearing, hiding in the shadows. _‘I guess some things don’t change,’_ he mused. Obito and Rin were peppering the curly-haired Uchiha, Shisui, with questions and Itachi drifted to join them, when it became apparent that Minato had run out of immediate queries.

Minato spotted the red-haired girl - _his future daughter_ \- crouched in front of a stone, frowning at the seal carved into it. “Hey, Minato-san,” she greeted cheerfully when he knelt next to her, not taking her eyes off the seal. “Need something from me?”

He shook his head, opting to study the seal again. It was an intriguing piece of work, clearly designed by someone with great skill in Fuuinjutsu. He could see himself poring over it with Kushina for days, trying to decipher it.

“What are you doing?”

“Studying this stupid seal,” Hikari said absently, pulling out a notebook and a pencil to take a quick sketch of the seal. She hardly looked at the paper but drew the seal perfectly, not a single line out of place. It was evidence that she was an expert in Fuuinjutsu. “Senju Tobirama was brilliant, but also an _idiot_.”

Minato blinked.

“What does the Nidaime have to do with this?”

Hikari sat down properly with a huff, propping her hands behind her. “The seal network is clearly his work,” she told him, passing him a copy of her sketch of the seal with a knowing smile. “From what I can tell, he was trying to create a teleportation seal capable of transporting multiple people but didn’t manage to complete it. I’m assuming he died before he could complete or destroy it.”

She looked at the seal again, poking it half-heartedly. “Don’t worry, it’s inactive,” she assured the man at her side when he looked worried. Continuing with her explanation, Hikari said, “I called him an idiot because the seal network is very unstable and should have been tested in a remote location, not in the forest near a training ground.”

“Unstable how?”

“Unstable as in it could have killed you four.”

Blue eyes widened and Minato stared at the girl in horror, complexion pale. “You’re not kidding…?”

“Nope,” she replied, deadly serious. “I believe that the reason you guys made it here is because Kashi-nii accidentally triggered the seal network on our end and it created a pathway between your time and ours. Still, it’s only a theory. I won’t know for sure without the Nidaime’s notes to understand what exactly he was attempting and I’m pretty sure you, of all people, would know that space-time techniques are rather finicky.”

Minato smiled weakly; the knowledge that he and his team had probably survived thanks to a mere accidental coincidence was not reassuring. Another item to add to the list of things that he shouldn’t tell his team.

“…you’re really good at Fuuinjutsu, aren’t you, Hikari-san? I couldn’t tell anything other than it involved space-time and transportation.”

Hikari snorted, waving her hand dismissively. “Don’t sell yourself short; you’ll get there. I literally have decades of studying under my belt. Kage Bunshin,” she added when Minato looked at her disbelievingly. _‘And a ton of spite, but who cares?’_

“Oi! Minato-sensei! Hikari-san!”

The pair turned in unison to see Obito waving at them with both arms, a wide grin on his face. “Can we train with these guys?! They said they can teach me some cool stuff!”

“I suppose it’s okay if they’re fine with it…” Minato trailed off, frowning. “But we should also be looking for a way to get back home.”

“But Sensei!”

Rin joined in on the pouting, wide eyes staring up at the blond. Minato held his hands up, sweat-dropping at the combined assault of his students.

“It should be fine, Minato-san,” Hikari interjected, expression amused as she rocked back and forth on her heels. “There’s a limiter in the seal; you’ll return to your time in about four hours, likely to the very instant you left.”

“Alright then. We’ll be in your care.”

Hikari looked bemused at the sudden formality but took it in stride, turning to look at her own team who all either grinned or smiled back at her. “Since we have four on each side, why don’t we pair up? Let’s see…I thin-”

“I want to spar with the supposedly future me.”

All eyes turned to the younger Kakashi, who was shooting a dark glare at the older one. He looked like he was a second away from pulling out a kunai and stabbing someone, likely his future self. Hikari frowned and opened her mouth, but closed it after a pause. Instead, she looked at the older Hatake questioningly.

“Kashi-nii?”

The former ANBU was leaning against a tree, hands tucked into his pockets as he stared at his younger counterpart with his visible eye. After a few moments of contemplation, he nodded to the redhead.

“If you’re sure…” Hikari trailed off, uncertain. Younger Kakashi and older Kakashi belonged on opposite poles of the personality spectrum and she didn’t know if it was wise to pair them up. But since her Kakashi had agreed, she let it go.

“As for the others, Shisui and Obito?” Both Uchiha nodded with identical grins, making her sigh in resignation at the mischief they were likely to get up to. “Then that leaves Rin with Itachi.”

“But aren’t you the medic of the team, Hikari-san?” Rin asked, confused. It wasn’t an assumption made on the fact that she was a girl or some similar line of thought, but rather from what Shisui had told her and Obito about their team.

“We probably should have been more specific,” Shisui mused in a rueful tone when Hikari raised an eyebrow at him, gesturing for Itachi to explain.

Itachi rolled his eyes at his cousin, but smiled at the girl looking at him curiously. “Technically, all of us, meaning Shisui, Hikari and I, are capable of Iryo ninjutsu. We trade off based on the circumstances; if it’s a fatal wound or something that requires immediate medical attention, Hikari takes care of it because of her special chakra. For other cases, I act as medic. Shisui primarily takes on an offensive role, so he only takes over when neither of us is available.”

“You guys are really strong, huh?”

* * *

Minato studied the girl perched on the branch next to him, a multitude of questions swimming around in his head. But he didn’t know where to start.

_‘If Kushina was here, she would probably hug the poor girl to death and then pester her with all her questions.’_

“You can ask pretty much anything, you know,” Hikari interrupted his thoughts, quirking a wry smile at him. “It’s the reason I paired up with you. I won’t guarantee answers though.”

“That’s reasonable. So…are you really my daughter?”

“Yes and no.”

When Minato frowned in confusion, she smiled faintly, shaking her head a little. “I wasn’t born in this dimension. I was born as Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto,” she explained, using a Henge to transform into her original form for a moment. “My dimension was destroyed and I arrived here by accident.”

The blond Namikaze’s eyes were unfocused, mind still on the Henge. The blond hair and blue eyes were similar to his, the six whisker marks on her cheeks rather distinctive, but he wasn’t sure where they had come from.

He filed away the information he had gotten about her identity to ponder on for later, having noticed the dark undertone in her voice when Hikari had mentioned her home dimension. Minato took a deep breath and asked the question he had been dying to ask. “Are Kushina and I out of the village right now?”

The sadness in the air was palpable and Minato had his answer before Hikari even spoke. “No,” she said softly, not meeting his eyes. “Both in my dimension and here, the two of you died when ‘Naruto’ was born.”

Minato didn’t need to know the reason why. He could come up with at least ten reasons at the top of his head and all of them were more than plausible.

“But there’s a chance to prevent that from occurring,” Hikari continued speaking, bringing his train of thought to a grinding halt. “Since you’re here, I can-”

Whatever she was going to say was cut off by yelling and the pair turned sharply to the source.

“There is no way you’re me!”

Younger Kakashi was panting, face set in a furious glare as he pointed his tanto at his counterpart. All throughout their spar, the older man had simply dodged lazily, clear that he wasn’t taking it seriously. He was even reading a volume of Icha Icha, which was basically _porn_ , in public!

“I would never become so…so lethargic! Shinobi are supposed to be on alert at all times, ready to do their mission! You’re just a useless excuse of a shinobi!”

Next to a tense Minato, Hikari cursed, readying herself to jump off the branch when older Kakashi closed his book with a loud snap. The visible part of his face revealed an expression harder than stone, a startling amount of hate in his single dark eye.

“People change,” he said in a deceptively light tone. “When you lose too much, when all the people you love slip through your fingers like sand, _something within you **shatters**.”_

Younger Kakashi’s eyes widened, fingers trembling around the hilt of his tanto. “W-What are you talking about?”

“But I suppose you’re right,” the older Hatake mused as if the other had not spoken. “I guess I am useless. After all, Obito died _for me_ , Rin died _because of me_ , Sensei and Kushina-nee died _because I couldn’t do more_ and-”

“That’s enough!”

Hikari cut in between the two Hatake, facing the enraged Jounin with a heavy frown. _‘I knew it was a mistake to let these two pair up,’_ she thought with regret. _‘Kashi-nii despised his younger self, so it’s no wonder that he snapped.’_

“Go cool off, Kashi-nii,” she ordered, voice brooking no room for argument as she stared him down. The Jounin stared at her for a few tense moments. Then he nodded sharply and spun on his heel, disappearing into the trees.

Exhaling, Hikari pinched the bridge of her nose, lines of stress around her eyes. “I was hoping that this wouldn’t happen,” she muttered, aware that the entire clearing had heard those hate-filled words. What they didn’t know, was that it was _self-hatred_.

“What did he mean by that?!” Obito demanded, dark eyes narrowed in a glare. But it was clear as day that he was shaken to the core, Rin not doing better than him, considering that she looked like she was about to faint. “Kakashi might be a stuck-up bastard, but there’s no way he’d kill Rin!”

The redhead’s lips were pressed in a thin line and she met Shisui and Itachi’s gazes, at a loss on what to do. She had originally planned only to tell Minato and let him decide whether to tell his team or not. But now it was out in the open and not in a way she would have preferred.

“Why don’t you sit down, Rin-san?”

Itachi gently took the brunette’s shoulders, guiding her to sit down on a boulder. Following his lead, Shisui herded the Uchiha he’d been paired with over to her, Obito placing a hand on his teammate’s shoulder to both ground himself and to comfort her.

With that taken care of, Hikari turned around. Minato was talking in whispered tones to a pale-faced Kakashi, the boy giving a strained nod to whatever the blond had said. Feeling eyes on him, Minato raised his head to meet the redhead’s gaze.

“Can you tell us what that was all about?” he asked, a desperate glint in his eyes. Kushina’s and his deaths were one thing, but to hear that he was going to lose most of his team did not sit well with him.

Hikari nodded, gesturing for them to join the quartet huddled around the boulder. Once they were as comfortable as they could be, she started to speak, Shisui and Itachi leaving it to her since she was the one who had the most information on the situation.

“This happened during the Third War. You guys were given a mission to destroy Kannabi bridge…”

She told them everything: Rin’s capture and the boys rescuing her, during which Obito had been crushed by boulders, giving Kakashi his eye, Rin having the Sanbi sealed into her, her suicide, Minato and Kushina’s death shortly after the birth of their child.

Everything except Obito’s survival.

That was going to be for Minato’s ears alone.

“I…”

Rin’s complexion was pasty-white, eyes darting between her hands and her stony silver-haired teammate. “I used Kakashi-kun to kill myself…?”

“A future version of yourself did,” Shisui corrected, wanting her to know the difference between what _she_ didn’t do and what her _future self_ had done. “Now that you know, I doubt you’re going to let things happen the same way.”

“Damn right we won’t!” Obito yelled, fists clenched as he shot to his feet. He scowled at his teammates, even at Rin. “If we got beaten because we weren’t strong enough, then we just have to train harder!”

“What’s the point?” Kakashi muttered, prompting the Uchiha to scowl fiercer. The Hatake’s eyes were dull, his whole posture screaming defeat. “It’s already happened. Training harder isn’t going to help.”

Eyebrow twitching, Shisui raised a hand and smacked the back of the boy’s head. “Didn’t you hear what Hikari-chan said before? Just your mere presence here has likely changed your future. Don’t you dare give up before even trying, idiot. There’s a reason we agreed to help you brats train.”

Rin blinked, the older Uchiha’s words startling her out of her shock and she looked at her temporary partner. True to his words, Itachi had shown her how to increase the efficacy of her healing techniques, but had also taught her how to wield them as weapons, to use them in combat. She hadn’t questioned him, happy in the knowledge that her Iryo ninjutsu could help not only heal, but defend her team.

It was the same for Obito, Shisui prodding him into pushing his body to move faster, sharper. He didn’t allow any useless movements, making the boy perform accurate and streamlined attacks that didn’t require much energy or chakra, but strong enough to incapacitate an enemy. Obito might not have his Sharingan yet, but his improving speed would make him more agile once he obtained the precognitive abilities of his Doujutsu.

Only Kakashi hadn’t received any such training, but what he needed most was a reality check.

Something he had gotten, even if it hadn’t been the older Kakashi’s intention.

Minato spoke up then, voiced a little strained, “Will them being stronger really help?”

“Maybe, maybe not. All we can give you is a fighting chance,” Hikari replied. “Last time, you were an almost broken team, learning vital lessons far too late to be of use.”

The members of Team Minato nodded at that, even Kakashi. His expression had transformed from shocked to thoughtful, glancing from Obito to Rin and back again every few seconds.

After a few minutes of silence, the three Genin looked at the older with determined expressions, asking them to continue with their training. Hikari was about to offer to train with Kakashi but Minato caught her eye, wordlessly asking her for a minute. Curious, she waved the Hatake to join Shisui and Obito, knowing that the older Uchiha could handle him.

* * *

Minato led the girl to a shadowy spot amongst the trees, not wanting his team to eavesdrop on the conversation he was about to have.

“You’re hiding something.”

Hikari tilted her head at him, leaning against a tree trunk casually. “What makes you think that?”

“If you weren’t, you would tell us who attacked Kushina and I during our child’s birth and how to stop him,” he glared at her, sick and tired of the games and riddles. “Instead, you kept saying ‘masked man’.”

“Are you sure you want to know, Minato-san? Sometimes, ignorance is better.”

The blond man resisted the urge to snap at the redhead, stiffening under the intense gaze she directed at him. Whatever information was being kept from him concerned his family and team; he felt he had a right to know, even if it hurt him.

“I’m sure. Who is this masked man?”

Hikari gave him a half-smile, her reply shocking him into silence, “Obito.”

When Minato didn’t react for a while, she said, “He survived being crushed and was saved by someone. It wasn’t out of the goodness of their heart; he was always a pawn in their plans. Rin being made into a Jinchuuriki and her death were all planned. Obito was manipulated into witnessing her death and it broke him. That’s why he did what he did.”

To Minato’s credit, he only took a few seconds to process that, expression blanking out as he buried his emotions. This was the man who would single-handedly win the war on the Iwa front -not that he knew that yet-, the man who would become the Yondaime Hokage.

“Preventing Obito’s…accident will stop that incident?” he asked flatly, sharp blue eyes watching the redhead in front of him. Hikari could almost see the man’s brain working overtime, already thinking of ways to change the future before he even got his answers.

Hikari shrugged. “No clue. It would definitely put a wrench in the real mastermind’s plans but they’re resourceful. I really don’t want to explain everything…”

Feeling the blond’s frustration rising at her complaint, Hikari unsealed a small but thick scroll from her bracelet and threw it at him. Minato caught it deftly, raising an eyebrow in question. “That contains the history of my dimension, everything I know about that person’s plans,” she wasn’t sure how to refer to Black Zetsu and also wasn’t in the mood to discuss it, “right from the start till when and how I came to this dimension. Read it when you’re back in your time.”

It was something she had prepared in case something happened to her before she could tell anyone but it was useless now, with quite a few people currently in on her secret.

Minato eyed the scroll warily and nodded, tucking it away in his pouch. He would have preferred a personal debrief, but he could see the well-hidden pain in the redhead’s eyes, so a written report would have to do. Closing his eyes, he exhaled, letting go of his concern and worry like his students had done, and instead let determination fill him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, smiling helplessly. “I don’t think either of us expected our day to go like this.”

“No worries!” Hikari chirped cheerfully, a bright grin on her face. Meeting mini-Team Minato was a delightful experience, the kids so very different from their adult versions. “It’s pretty awesome in its own way, so who cares? How many people can say that they’ve been to the future or met people from the past?”

“You’re a lot like Kushina,” Minato murmured, a strange fondness in his voice as he gazed at the redhead, who stilled at his words. “She would have been delighted to meet you.”

Hikari smiled at him, a little on the shy side before she said lightly, “Then you better make sure you both survive, hmm?”

“I will.”

* * *

Things went smoothly after that.

By the time their visit to the future came to an end, Team Minato found themselves much stronger than when they had arrived. Perhaps it wouldn’t be enough to match a Jounin yet, but the seeds were there. With dedicated training and resolve, they would be stronger than they had ever been.

Hikari could even see Kakashi loosening up a little, less likely to pick a fight with Obito; if the Uchiha annoyed him, he would simply roll his eyes and snap at him, albeit not harshly. And it seemed that the dark-haired boy had picked up on it, judging by the way he was less prickly around the Hatake.

“They’re going to be very different from what my team was, huh?”

The redhead hummed, not taking her eyes off Obito who was pestering Shisui and Itachi about their Sharingan. Older Kakashi stood next to her, melancholy and nostalgia in his visible eye as he watched the spectacle. He had returned shortly after her talk with Minato, keeping to the edges until his younger version had gone to talk to him.

It had seemed to prove productive, both Hatake more comfortable in each other’s presence even if they were still a little awkward.

 _‘I suppose both of them obtained some sort of closure,’_ Hikari mused. Far be it for her to interfere if that was the case.

Sensing a faint chakra build-up, she uncrossed her arms, clearing her throat. Team Minato turned to look at her, faces falling when they saw her apologetic expression.

“Do we really have to go?” Obito pouted, staring down at his feet. He liked it in this time, where people saw him for himself.

Shisui ruffled his hair, smiling down at the younger boy. “You know you have to. Besides, it’s not like none of us are there. If you don’t mind the younger me, go befriend him. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up mentoring me this time.”

“I think I will do that,” Obito decided, startling the older Uchiha by briefly hugging him around the waist. He looked to the side at Itachi with a grin, “If Fugaku-sama lets me, maybe I can babysit you or something!”

Itachi chuckled, accepting the hug from the boy with grace. “Perhaps. If not, get Shisui to smuggle me out. I’m certain Mother would allow it.”

Obito hesitantly stepped back, standing in between Rin and Kakashi who had already said their goodbyes. Minato placed his arms around his students, gathering them up as the other quartet stepped out of the seal array.

“Take care of yourselves, got it?” Hikari waved to them as the seals started lighting up. “After all, we’ve got to meet each other again!”

“We will!”

Minato met his future daughter’s eyes for one last time, smiling as he mouthed a few words to her. Hikari’s eyes widened when she understood what he said, tears beading at the corners of her eyes and she grinned widely.

_“I’m proud of you.”_

The light engulfed Team Minato for an instant and when it faded, they were gone, leaving behind an empty clearing.

“Think their future will be different?” Hikari asked as she directed her gaze to the sky, resolutely ignoring the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Shisui and Itachi stood on either side, intertwining their hands with hers while Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure it will,” the Hatake said with a chuckle. “You managed to convert my younger self; I think that alone will be enough.”

The girl huffed, not quite agreeing but also not refuting the statement.

“Take some of the credit too, Kashi-nii! But I think you took too much delight in kicking your younger self’s butt!”

* * *

“Hey, sensei?”

“What is it, Rin?”

“Can we talk to anyone about us having gone to the future?”

Minato considered that for a moment then shook his head. “We can’t let anyone know about this array,” he explained when the brunette looked at him questioningly. “It’s too dangerous to change the flow of time too much. Even what we’re going to do is risky, since we can’t tell what the repercussions will be.”

“But we _will_ do it,” Kakashi said quietly, steel in his eyes as he met the older man’s gaze. He didn’t want to become the traumatized man he had met in the future, not because of his own rigid rules. “I don’t want to lose you, sensei. _Any_ of you.”

Obito puffed up indignantly, glaring at the silver-haired boy. “No way am I dying!” he declared, his twitching lips betraying the fact that he wasn’t really mad at the other. “I’m going to become an awesome shinobi and the next Hokage!”

Rin giggled at him, patting his shoulder to soften the blow from her next words. “But we all know that’s going to be sensei. So you have to wait for your turn, Obito.”

“It’s fine since it’s sensei,” the Uchiha waved it away, grinning at their sheepish teacher. “Because he’s a strong and cool shinobi!”

Minato laughed, ruffling his student’s hair. “Thank you, I guess? We’ll have to see how things end up, anyway.”

The four made their way out of the training ground, after making sure that the seal array was hidden and protected. Like the redhead they had met in the future had theorized, hardly any time seemed to have passed.

When they were just about to exit the forest, Rin put a finger to her mouth in thought and glanced at her teacher from the corner of her eye. “Hey, sensei; are you going to tell Kushina-nee about our ‘little trip’? I think she would like to know about her future daughter too!”

“R-Rin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seem to be incapable of writing pure fluff.
> 
> Posted: 18/12/2020


	8. The Prank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shisui gets pranked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Kei_UwU's [request](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27634679/comments/369658780).

Naruto snuck down the stairs, taking careful steps so that the wood didn’t creak under his feet. He usually wasn’t up so early and wanted to surprise his sister. Hence, he was channeling all his stealth abilities.

“-not like you don’t experiment.”

Huh?

 _‘Shisui-nii?’_ the blond toddler wondered, standing on tiptoes to look over the banister. It was strange for the Uchiha to be over at any time before breakfast.

Hikari’s eyebrow was twitching as she glared at the Uchiha, whacking his hand when he tried to ruffle her hair. “Will you ever stop being stupid?”

“It was a calculated risk!”

“Yeah, one that almost got you killed!”

Case in point, the singed clothes the Jounin was currently wearing.

“The seal did exactly what it was supposed to do, Hikari-chan.”

“Then I suggest that you find a better way to do it.”

“But I like this one! And you can just fix me up anyway.”

“Argh!” Hikari threw her hands up in frustration, spinning on her heel and stomping off towards the kitchen. One could almost feel and see the waves of annoyance rolling off her. “I give up! Go and shower; you’re stinking up my house!”

“Fine, fine.”

Naruto’s brow was furrowed in thought and confusion. His sister’s voice sounded angry and the way she stomped away was similar to what she did when she was upset.

So that meant Shisui was being mean to Hikari.

 _‘Bad Shisui-nii,’_ he thought in anger, not caring that he was in perfect view when said Uchiha started climbing the stairs. Instead, Naruto glared when the older boy waved at him, aiming a vicious kick to his knee before running off.

Shisui scratched his head in confusion as he watched the blond child dash downstairs, wondering what had provoked that unwarranted assault on his person. The kick hadn’t hurt, since the kid was only three and couldn’t use chakra yet nor was he strong enough.

Shrugging off the strange occurrence, he disappeared into the bathroom, putting it out of his mind. He headed towards a cabinet near the sink, absently reaching for a shelf which had his name on it. The cabinet itself had been installed after Shisui, Itachi and Tenzo became frequent visitors to the Uzumaki house, half the time in a messy state from training.

Hikari had eventually gotten fed up with doing their laundry and prepared the cabinet with labelled shelves, containing clothes for them. That way the boys had a change of clothes and Hikari didn’t have her usual laundry routine disturbed.

After checking that he had his set, Shisui undressed and stepped into the shower, humming under his breath. “Do I have time for breakfast here…?”

* * *

“HIKARI-CHAN!”

“Why are you yelling?”

The redhead sighed, spinning on her heel to face her friend who came skidding around the corner into the kitchen. She did a double take when she saw him, not reacting when Shisui almost crashed into the table.

“Help me!”

Hikari blinked once, twice, then pinched her arm to check if she was dreaming. Nope, she wasn’t.

Shisui’s pout deepened when the girl started laughing, holding onto the counter to keep her balance. It wasn’t funny!

“Hikari-chan!”

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just…” Hikari trailed off, making a valiant attempt to stifle her laughter as she waved a hand in the Uchiha’s general direction. “What did you even do? Take a dip in paint?”

It might have been the truth; Shisui was colored a bright blue from head to toe, apart from his dark clothing. When the light from the window hit him, he shimmered, revealing that there was actually some glitter mixed into the dye on his skin and hair.

All in all, he looked like a popsicle.

“I only showered,” Shisui glowered, arms crossed over his chest as he tried to show his displeasure. “I love a good prank now and then, but I really don’t need this right now! I have a debriefing with Hokage-sama in thirty minutes and then a meeting with Fugaku-sama! I can’t go around the village like this!”

Hikari snickered, completely unconcerned by the glare sent her way. “This one is not my fault,” she said with a smirk. She walked closer to him, poking the bare skin of the boy’s arm to feel the dye. “Hmm, seems like this needs to be washed off with alcohol.”

“What?!” Shisui shrieked in panic, starting to flail around. “So my only options are to look like a human popsicle or stink of an alcohol dispensary?!”

The girl rolled her eyes and flicked his forehead, snapping, “Aren’t you a shinobi? Use a Henge!”

“I suppose that would work but it won’t fool Hokage-sama and Fugaku-sama. What if they ask me to drop it?!”

“Well, for the entertainment you’ve provided, I’ll give you a seal-based Henge,” Hikari smirked when Shisui gawked at her. She sauntered off into the living room and came back in a few seconds with a piece of paper, which she promptly slapped onto the Uchiha’s forehead.

“There, you should be good until it wears off.”

“And when is that?”

“About three to four hours? That should be enough time for you, right?”

Shisui sighed. He would just have to hope that all important engagements were done within that timeframe. “Let’s hope so.”

A quick breakfast and ten minutes later, Hikari saw off her friend as he ran to get to his debriefing with the Sandaime. Thinking back on the prank, she mused, “Hmm, that wasn’t one of my leftover pranks, so that leaves only one culprit. But why did he do that?”

* * *

Unfortunately for Shisui, that wasn’t the only prank he suffered that week.

Kunai switched for plastic ones.

Clothes dyed a mottled green.

The classic water bucket atop the door.

Shoes glued to the floor.

But the most recent one took the cake.

He had ended up being doused in fluorescent yellow paint, along with what seemed like a crate of hideous, sparkling rhinestones. That one took a dip in the Naka river to wash off and thankfully, Itachi was the only one to witness it.

“Someone seems to have it out for you,” the younger Uchiha remarked, sitting on a rock as he watched his best friend grumble to himself and dunk his head under the water. “This is the second prank today.”

Shisui gave that comment the look it deserved and ran a hand through his hair, checking his reflection in the water to be sure that all the paint was gone. There were still a few rhinestones stuck in the curly strands, shining obnoxiously in the sunlight as if they were mocking him. He viciously tugged at them, not caring if he pulled out some of his hair along with the rhinestones.

“What I want to know is who is behind them. It’s not someone among the Jounin or else they would have done the pranks in full view of everyone.”

“True,” Itachi agreed. So far the only locations the pranks had occurred were Shisui’s house, his usual training locations and Hikari’s house. “Maybe we should ask Hikari?”

“What, you think she’s the one doing this?”

“No, but she may have an idea.”

“I do have an idea.”

Shisui gaped. “Then why didn’t you say or do anything?”

“Because I was wondering which one of you would cave first and the pranks weren’t malicious,” Hikari replied with a half-smile, snapping her book shut and getting to her feet. “Since you’ve asked, let’s put a stop to this.”

She led the boys upstairs and to the room next to hers, leaning against the open doorway. “Care to tell me why you’re pranking Shisui, dear brother?”

Naruto’s head shot up, expression looking distinctly like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar when he processed what she had said. “I don’t know,” he hedged, not meeting her eyes.

“Really? I think you do,” Hikari coaxed gently, smiling to let him know that she wasn’t mad. He wasn’t a bad child and he probably had a reason for his actions, no matter how childish -or not- it might be.

The blond boy squirmed under his sister’s unrelenting gaze and finally burst out, “He was mean to you!”

Hikari and Shisui, who was standing behind the girl, blinked. “What?”

“He was saying mean stuff to you and you were mad at him!”

“Uh, _what_?”

The redhead shook her head to clear her thoughts, frowning in confusion. “When did that happen?”

Naruto sulked, shoulders drooping as he dropped his gaze to stare at his hands, counting on his fingers. “…five days ago.”

_‘Five days ago? Ah.’_

“I remember that now.”

Shisui spluttered, trying to protest his innocence as the girl stepped inside Naruto’s room and sat on the bed. He took a step inside too, but his progress was halted by the dark, but frankly adorable, glare the blond shot his way and the Uchiha decided to stay in place until the misunderstanding was sorted out. “Hikari-chan, an explanation, please?

“I think Naruto is referring to our conversation that morning, when you came over after experimenting with an explosive tag, specifically after I told you not to,” Hikari replied drily, staring pointedly at Shisui then at Naruto. “I vaguely recall a sneaky child eavesdropping.”

“Not sneaky!” Naruto yelled with a pout but only earned himself a fond pat on his head.

“What part of that conversation could be taken as a…fight…wait…” Shisui trailed off, rewinding the events of that day and trying to remember exactly what they had said. Analyzing his words and Hikari’s reactions from the perspective of a child, he could admit that it probably looked like a quarrel.

Laughing at the older Uchiha’s distress, the female Uzumaki gently grabbed Naruto and set him on her lap. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Naruto, but Shisui and I weren’t fighting.”

“Really?”

That skeptical gaze was far too cute!

“Really. I was just scolding him for being careless, just like how I scold you when you do something you shouldn’t and get hurt.”

“Oh.”

Naruto’s expression transformed from surprise to understanding and settled on guilt. He scrambled off Hikari’s lap and using her legs as support, slid to the floor. Standing in front of Shisui, he ducked his head apologetically, “M’sorry, Shisui-nii…”

Heart melting at the sad and pathetic sight, Shisui scooped up the toddler and hugged him close. “Since you’re so adorable, I’ll let you off,” he chuckled, rubbing their cheeks together and making Naruto giggle. “Aren’t you a good boy? Protecting your sister’s honor like that!”

“Still, I wonder what prank made you snap,” the redhead remarked, resting her chin on her palm as she regarded the scene. “Pretty sure it would have been funny as hell.”

“I could show you,” Itachi piped up, a mischievous glint in his usually impassive dark eyes as he locked gazes with Hikari. “I was there for it.”

“Oh? What did it include?”

“Paint and rhinestones. A _lot_ of them.”

“This I have to see,” Hikari rubbed her hands gleefully, springing off the bed when Shisui squawked indignantly and tried to grab her. She cackled at the older Uchiha’s distress and snatched Itachi’s hand, dragging him out of the room behind her. “I don’t mind if you use a Genjutsu, Itachi, but show me before Shisui catches us!”

“Don’t you dare! Itachi!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if this was good...  
> I've realized that my creativity doesn't extend to pranks. ;-;
> 
> This takes place in Twisting Reality, before Manami and Karin's appearance.
> 
> Posted: 31/01/2021


	9. At the end of a journey…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When one journey ends, another will begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [minata](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/371638737) and [narushi](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/376833837).
> 
> Not sure if this is what you guys wanted, but hope you like it!

“Itachi!”

“Nii-san!”

Despite the multiple calls of his name and the increasingly desperate cries for him to stay awake, Itachi just couldn’t do it.

He was tired, exhausted in a way that he felt it deep in his very bones.

**_“Hmph. Humans and their fragile bodies.”_ **

Itachi smiled a little. _“And do you not feel tired yourself, Kurama-sama?”_

The fox harrumphed and settled his head on his front paws, eyeing the form of his container lying on the withering grass. The mindscape was crumbling, further evidence of the Uchiha’s rapidly draining life. **_“Perhaps. But it is well worth it.”_**

_“Indeed.”_

Kurama didn’t say another word, silently picking up the Uchiha with his tails and placing him against his flank. Even if the Bijuu despised most humans, Itachi was one of the few he cared about and there was no need for him to be uncomfortable in his last moments, even if it was only in their shared mindscape.

The battle against Kaguya and Black Zetsu had been long and hard, despite Itachi and Kurama’s efforts to stop it before it reached that point. Naruto and Sasuke had received the Rikudo Sennin’s power, teaming up with the rest of the Allied Shinobi Forces to corner the Otsutsuki.

Even so, despite their combined might, it had seemed like things were about to go the way it had in Kurama’s original dimension.

The turning point had come when Itachi had jumped in, channeling Kurama’s power and giving their allies the push they had desperately needed. Despite being shocked at the sudden appearance of another Kyuubi on the battlefield, Naruto and Sasuke had forged on, finally sealing Kaguya away.

But that push had not come without a price.

The seal containing Kurama was perfect, but Itachi did not have the Uzumaki longevity to withstand the dense chakra for a long time. His body and lifeforce were already weakened due to his illness and overuse of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He did not have the Eternal Mangekyo, having refused a transplant.

In other words, Itachi was dying.

After what seemed like an eternity but was only a minute in the real world, Kurama spoke up. **_“If you wish to say any last words to your family, best do it now. You are not for this world for much longer.”_**

Itachi opened unseeing dark eyes, cheek pressed against the fox’s soft fur. _“Do you remember, Kurama-sama? That day, when we talked about what we would do when it was all over.”_

**_“Of course.”_ **

_“Does your wish still stand?”_

Kurama snorted, opening crimson eyes to stare at the Uchiha. **_“What else would I want to do in this filthy world?”_**

That got a weak huff of laughter. _“I see. But how would you cross over?”_

 ** _“You were always the curious one of the lot, asking questions even while on your deathbed,_** ” the Bijuu grumbled, closing his eyes in feigned annoyance. **_“I tied my existence to yours. When you die, I will die too. And perhaps we will meet again in the next world.”_**

_“That would be nice.”_

**_“Hmph. You’re one of the few who would welcome the presence of a Bijuu.”_ **

_“Not a Bijuu, but a friend,”_ Itachi corrected gently, patting the fox’s flank with a trembling hand. He knew that his time was running out. Yet, this was the first time in years that he had found peace.

Kurama’s expression softened and he tightened his tails around the Uchiha. **_“Go talk to everyone, Itachi. You don’t have much time.”_**

_“…I understand.”_

With a great deal of effort, Itachi focused back on the real world. Since he could not see, he relied on his chakra sensing to find out who was around him. He sighed internally in exasperation at the healing chakra being poured into him.

“Hinata-san, Sakura-san, that is quite enough,” he said calmly, curling his hands around the two girls’ wrists. An absent thought that Kurama was giving him strength flitted through his mind and he sent a whisper of thanks to the Bijuu.

“Shut up, Nii-san,” Sasuke bit back, voice harsh but clearly choked with tears. He tightened his grip on his brother’s shoulders, ignoring their parents hovering behind them. “I am _not_ going to lose you now.”

Itachi shook his head slightly, dropping the girls’ wrists to cradle his beloved younger brother’s face instead. “I was prepared for this outcome, Sasuke.”

“So what? I won’t accept it! You still have a ton of explanations to give me!”

“Silly little Sasuke. Won’t you let your brother rest?”

He knew the instant Sasuke’s expression crumpled, one warm hand grabbing his and holding on tightly. Honestly speaking, Itachi knew that this day would come and had placed contingencies so that no one would ever know the entire truth, even if they could put a few pieces of the puzzle together.

Itachi would take Hikari’s secrets to the grave.

There was no point in anyone knowing, after all.

“Itachi-nii…”

It was Naruto this time, a calloused hand reaching out to brush the Uchiha’s hair out of his face. “You want to see Hikari-nee and Shisui-nii, right?”

A shuddering breath. “Yes.”

Itachi could hear the heartbreak and gratitude in the blond’s voice as he said, “Thank you, Itachi-nii, for protecting their memory and wishes so preciously.”

There was nothing he could say to that.

One by one, the crowd around Itachi left, whispering their thanks and goodbyes, leaving only his family. Mikoto dropped to her knees on her firstborn’s right, resting one hand on a cold cheek. She bit back a sob, “My dear child…”

Fugaku knelt next to his wife, one arm around her shoulders as he gazed at his son, his stony expression cracking to reveal the sorrow underneath. Even though the loss of his son would be painful, he knew that Itachi wouldn’t be able to go on for much longer, both physically and mentally. That was why he chose not to say anything, instead letting his emotions bleed into his chakra, aware that Itachi would be able to sense it.

“Mother, Father…”

“It’s alright, Itachi,” Mikoto smiled through her tears, pressing a kiss to her son’s forehead. “As long as you’re happy, we will accept whatever you choose.”

Itachi smiled, small but genuine. “I am sorry though, for everything.”

“Don’t apologize,” Sasuke snapped, rubbing his eyes. “You don’t regret it.”

“I don’t,” the older Uchiha sibling agreed. “But I do regret the pain I caused you.”

“It’s fine. You did it for Hikari-san and Shisui-nii…and for the rest of us. Thank you, Nii-san. You…” Sasuke gulped, but managed to force out the words stuck in his throat.

“You can sleep now.”

* * *

“Shh, you’ll wake him.”

“Sorry, sorry…but he’s grown up a lot, hasn’t he?”

“I would be happier if he had taken care of himself a little more.”

“Well, we did need you to make us eat on time even back then, so I can’t blame him. How you managed that when you are just as much a training maniac as we are, I don’t know.”

“I bribed you with your favorite foods most of the time, didn’t I?”

“Yep.”

Making the mistake of opening his eyes without assessing the situation, Itachi had to squeeze his eyes shut tight to clear the spots and to recover from the disconcerting feeling of sight after years of darkness. In the meantime, he focused on what his other senses were telling him.

He appeared to be in an open space filled with light, his head was pillowed on something soft and there were two very familiar voices talking above him.

No way.

Could it be…?

“…Hikari? Shisui?”

“Finally, sleeping beauty wakes! It’s been a while, Itachi.”

The Uchiha shot into an upright position and twisted around, eyes wide as he took in the two figures opposite him. Tears came unbidden as a wave of emotion choked him.

His friends looked older than he had last seen them, as if they had grown alongside him.

Hikari was as beautiful as she was in his memories, crimson hair longer than ever and tied back in a loose braid. She was dressed in a version of her favorite violet kimono-style dress, long sleeves almost covering her hands entirely. The orange scarf around her neck was odd though.

Shisui had changed from the teenager in Itachi’s memories into a handsome young man, with well-defined features. His attire consisted of the usual Uchiha high-collared black shirt and pants, curly hair flopping over his ears and forehead.

Despite the changes in their physical appearances, their eyes were as warm as ever.

“Come here, Itachi,” Hikari called to him, a wide smile on her lips as she held her arms out to him. The Uchiha didn’t waste a second and threw himself at her in an uncharacteristic manner, but he didn’t care. No one there was going to judge him.

A strong arm wrapping around his back told Itachi that Shisui had joined the hug and he pressed closer, breathing in deeply to take in their scents. They were familiar and soothing, helping him calm down.

None of them knew how long they stayed that way, not really caring.

Time was meaningless to the dead.

After what felt like an eternity, Itachi drew back, just enough to leave a small space between him and the other two. The trio didn’t care all that much about personal space, when it came to each other.

“Is this the afterlife?”

“Not quite,” Shisui answered, grinning teasingly with a knowing glint in his eyes. “It’s like the in-between place.”

Hikari picked up when the older Uchiha paused, “We’ve been waiting for you here, Itachi. And before you ask, appearances are fluid in here, so you can look however you want. Since you appeared here like this,” she gestured towards his twenty-two-year-old body, “we took on appearances at similar ages.”

“I see…wait, where’s Kurama-sama? Did he not make it here?”

Chuckling at the slightly panicked tone in Itachi’s voice, Hikari raised a hand, touching the orange scarf around her neck. “He’s right here.”

The ‘scarf’ unraveled, and the nine tails of the Bijuu were revealed first, swinging lazily. His head came into view next, having been buried in Hikari’s hair. **“I see that you made it here safely,”** Kurama said in lieu of a greeting.

The girl snorted, running a hand over the fox’s back, “That was almost nice of you, Kurama.”

 **“Bite me,”** the miniaturized Bijuu deadpanned, hopping off the redhead’s shoulder. He stretched then shook himself, growing to the size of a tiger. **“Is this what I get for avenging you?”**

“I didn’t ask for that, but thank you,” Hikari smiled at the fox, draping herself over Kurama’s back. She missed being able to do that. “Thanks for keeping everyone safe.”

There was silence for a while, all of them basking in the euphoria of being reunited.

“You know, we’ve been watching over the two of you ever since that day,” Shisui eventually said, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he regarded the other Uchiha. “I can’t say much about Kurama-sama, since we don’t know each other all that well, but you’ve been blaming yourself, haven’t you, Itachi?”

Said Uchiha stiffened in response but relaxed after a moment, inclining his head in agreement. “I know it wasn’t my fault,” he said quietly, not being able to meet anyone’s eyes. “But I used to keep thinking if it could have been different if I had been there, fighting alongside you.”

“No one can know that for sure,” Hikari said as she took Itachi’s hand in a gentle grasp, squeezing once in assurance. “There’s no point in what-ifs now. So you can take that weight off your shoulders; you’ve helped protect the world and you should be proud of that, even if you were a little reckless.”

The last comment made a smile tug at Itachi’s lips. “I don’t want to hear that from you.”

Hikari started laughing, hard enough that she started tearing up. It had been so long since she had heard such a dry retort to one of her comments. “I really, really missed you, Itachi, Kurama.”

Wrangling everyone into a tight hug, one that even Kurama participated willingly for a little while, she sighed happily.

“Shall we go now? To a new adventure!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I thought, I really have to add in angst before I get to fluff....
> 
> Posted: 02/02/2021


	10. Pranks galore!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for some mischief!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Ryuuei](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/371529435).

In the backyard of a certain house, there was a large group of kids huddled together, all of them having serious expressions on their faces.

“So we’re definitely going to go through with this?” Ino asked, flicking her hair out of her eyes. Despite the nature of her question, there was a wicked gleam in her pale blue eyes as she looked at each of her friends.

Kiba scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “‘Course we are! No way are we going to back out after all our planning!”

“I agree, because it would mean that we just wasted our time,” Shino piped in, adding his two Ryo from where he was seated in the shade of a tree, right at the edge of the group but included all the same.

Sai muffled a chuckle in his sleeve, murmuring, “If even Shino says so, then we must do it.”

There were other noises of agreement, none of the kids wanting to drop their plans after spending so long on perfecting them.

Tossing the ball in his hand up into the air and catching it when it inevitably came back down, Naruto spoke, “Next question: are we going to do everything all at once or should we space them out?”

“I think we should space them out,” Hinata suggested, reaching for the scattered papers on the grass and organizing them in a folder that she pulled out of her bag. “That way our back-up plans would still work if we need them.”

“Troublesome, but she’s right,” Shikamaru groaned, falling onto his back to stare up at the sky. He had no idea how he had allowed himself to be dragged into something so troublesome, but Naruto and Ino would kill him if he tried to withdraw. One of them was bad enough; put the two together and they would rain down hell on him.

“Because that way we’ll have some of us free to act as alibis for the others?” Sasuke asked absently, swiping Naruto’s ball when it came down, smirking when the blond glared at him.

“Exactly.”

Sakura giggled, green eyes sparkling with mirth as she commented, “Sasuke-kun and Shikamaru-kun are on opposite sides of the personality spectrum but the way they think is so alike.”

“Take that back!”

Sasuke and Shikamaru glared at Sakura and then at each other, not liking that they had essentially proved the pinkette’s point by speaking the same words in unison. The two friends were weird that way.

“Calm down, you two,” Neji interjected, deftly spinning a flailing Naruto around to sit him down between the two dark-haired boys. Neither Shikamaru nor Sasuke would do anything to the other with Naruto there to get between them.

The blond had a very effective face of disapproval -which was only beaten by his sister and Itachi- and no one wanted to be on the wrong end of that _look_.

“Com on, guys, focus,” Karin called out loudly, making everyone turn to look at her. The redhead adjusted her glasses, adding, “We need to decide what we’re going to do and in what order before Nee-san comes home.”

“Too late~”

The kids jolted, heads swiveling around in shock. The redhead in question turned the corner at that very moment, prompting them to scramble around in panic. All of their plans were still out in the open, with only a few of them hidden in Hinata’s folder.

“Nee-san! What are you doing home so early?! You said you wouldn’t be back until the weekend!”

“I did,” Hikari allowed, eyes squinted as she studied her siblings and the other kids’ shifty behavior. The lot had been discussing something before she had arrived and she had only caught the tail end of Karin’s sentence. “But we found the hidden base quicker than expected, so here we are.”

Sasuke stiffened, echoing, “‘We’?”

“Yes, ‘we’, Sasuke,” Itachi answered for the redhead, coming up behind Hikari with Shisui in tow. “Do recall that we’re a team, little brother.”

“Nii-san! Stop teasing me!”

“Never mind that,” Hikari interrupted, an eyebrow raised as she stared at the kids, a smile threatening to break out when they squirmed under her gaze, even the usually unflappable Neji. “I smell mischief…what are you guys planning?”

Gaara’s fingers twitched and a wave of sand rose out of nowhere, enveloping the papers and effectively hiding them from view. He didn’t care about being obvious, since the older trio had already seen them. “Nothing.”

“I don’t buy it,” Shisui remarked, grinning at the wide-eyed looks of innocence Ino, Sakura and even Tenten shot him. “Cute, but no, that won’t work, girls. That’s a lot of effort for ‘nothing’.”

There was a staring contest, neither side backing down.

“Ah!”

Hikari’s eyes brightened in realization and her smile grew wider, fixing her stare upon a certain blond boy. “I seem to recall that particular expression on little brother’s face…”

Naruto gulped, sure that they were caught.

“What pranks are you planning this time?”

The kids deflated, Gaara removing the sand at a signal from Naruto. Of course they couldn’t hide it from Hikari.

“They were just a few things we were planning to do to some of the teachers at the Academy,” Chouji explained as he munched on a bag of chips, not really as concerned as the rest of his friends. He knew that the older girl wouldn’t really punish them all that much.

Shisui hummed, picking up one of the papers and skimming through it. He whistled in surprise; those were incredibly detailed plans for Academy kids. He knew _Chuunin_ that couldn’t do even half of the stuff he was seeing.

“Hey, Hikari-chan, Itachi, take a look at this.”

The two moved to stand on either side of the older Uchiha, looking at the paper he was holding.

“Huh. Only the Academy,” Hikari stated after a cursory glance at one of the plans the kids had devised. “You’re not targeting anyone else?”

“No,” Tenten pouted. She had relaxed when it was clear that they weren’t going to be scolded or punished badly, sitting cross-legged on the grass. “Those instructors are some of the people who are mean to Naruto and Gaara, and since no one really listens to us, we decided to prank them a bit.”

“I wanted to include the rest of the villagers too,” Shin exclaimed, Yakumo nodding eagerly as she continued, “But Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun said that civilians can’t stand up to shinobi and we shouldn’t target them, even if none of us is Genin yet.”

Hikari hummed in acknowledgment, crouching to take a look at the rest of the papers on the ground. Seeing that, Itachi got a bad feeling. “Hikari…?”

“They’re right; you can’t use pranks of this level on untrained civilians,” the girl said lightly, earning an amused snort from Shisui and a look of trepidation from Itachi. “You have to go for something simpler.”

“Huh?”

Hikari and Shisui burst out laughing at the sheer dumbfounded looks the kids gave them, Itachi sighing in exasperation. “Of course you’d say that,” he muttered under his breath, low enough that the children wouldn’t hear but his friends would, making the two laugh harder. “You’re an unashamed prankster yourself.”

“What do you mean by that?” Shikamaru asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed as he stared at the older sister of his best friend.

“She means that you should absolutely target the civilians, just with pranks tailored to them,” Shisui replied, having gotten his mirth under control. He loved the kids; they were just adorable balls of energy and entertaining antics. “Switch things up a bit, keep everyone on their toes, you know?”

“Yep,” Hikari chirped cheerfully, grinning at the kids. “But first, you must follow these rules.”

Itachi sensed an incoming headache. Why was he friends with two mischief-makers again?

“We mustn’t hurt anyone!” Lee exclaimed, eyes shining as he jumped into the conversation. They weren’t going to be punished and instead, were receiving assistance. How youthful!

“That’s one of them,” Hikari agreed with some measure of amusement, eyeing the hyperactive boy with a smile. If he grew any more enthusiastic, he’d be vibrating on the spot. “Nothing malicious is another; pranks are generally humiliating, but you should never go overboard.”

The children nodded firmly, hanging onto her every word.

“Like Lee said, nothing that can hurt people physically,” Shisui reiterated, sitting down next to Hikari. “Things like minor bruises are okay, though, if it’s unavoidable.”

“Last one!” Hikari exclaimed with a beaming smile, clapping her hands to disperse the serious atmosphere. “Never get caught!”

That got everyone to burst into raucous laughter, Naruto yelling, “Never! We’re too good for that!”

Unable to resist a smile at the sight of the cheerful group, Itachi sighed. “Is it really wise to set them loose on the village?” he asked Shisui, watching as Hikari promptly dived into helping the kids refine their plans.

“Don’t worry; the brats know not to go too far,” the older Uchiha grinned, winking conspiratorially at a giggling Karin. “We still have the threat of Hikari-chan and their parents to hold over them. Besides, do you think that she herself wouldn’t prank those people if the kids didn’t?”

“Better the children than Hikari then. We wouldn’t _have_ a village if we set _her_ loose,” Itachi murmured, twitching when he caught snippets of the redhead telling Gaara to use his sand eye and Sai his ink animals for spying, and creative uses of her Genjutsu for Yakumo.

Yeah, Konoha was doomed.

He could already hear the screams of the unsuspecting victims.

Oh, whatever.

Not like they didn’t deserve it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went for something simple since I literally couldn't think of any pranks, so you get this: bonding moments!
> 
> P.S. : I intend to clear out at least half the requests and prompts I currently have for 'Tangents and Parallels' and 'Quantum Travels', which is about 16 or 17, then an update for Overtwisted. So Twisting Reality will have a late update, but it shouldn't be more than a month.
> 
> Posted: 07/03/2021


	11. Chaotic revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minato and Obito burning down the Red Light District in Overtwisted chapter 4, with a twist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [TheEarthCicada](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/371700129).

Hiruzen sighed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to stave off the incoming headache. First Naruto had disappeared and now Kakashi was missing. The teen had taken on a dangerous mission by himself, without regard for his own life. The old Hokage was regretting having allowed the boy to go.

When Kakashi had not returned even two days after the allocated time, trackers had been sent out. They had returned with grim expressions, holding out the broken shards of the Hatake’s ANBU mask and the shattered remains of his tanto. The captain told Hiruzen that they had not found a body, but there had been a lot of dried blood belonging to the teen in the grass, so much that it was more than likely that Kakashi was dead.

Before he could continue wallowing in his regret and grief, an explosion shattered the silence of the night and Hiruzen shot out of his chair in alarm. He turned to look out the window, eyes widening at the blaze on the other side of the village.

He flicked his hand, his ANBU guards taking up position around him as Hiruzen leapt out the window. _‘That’s the Red Light District,’_ he thought with a worried frown, increasing his pace when he noticed that the fire was growing. Arriving at his destination in a matter of seconds, he took in the situation before him.

Many of the buildings had been entirely engulfed by the flames, faster than expected. People were screaming and running around in a panic, the Police Force and the available shinobi rescuing stragglers and taking them to safety. A few were using Suiton jutsu to douse the flames, but it didn’t seem to be doing much good.

“Report!” Hiruzen barked at one of the nearby shinobi, frowning heavily. “What caused the fire?”

A man, looking to be a Jounin considering his flak jacket, straightened and saluted his leader. “Hokage-sama!” the soot-covered man said. “The explosion that started the fire occurred in that building,” he pointed to a building that was beginning to crumble. “We have reason to believe it wasn’t an accident.”

“How so?”

“There are traces of chakra in the fire, Hokage-sama. A sensor has verified that it is not one of our own.”

“An attacker?”

Someone started shouting, attracting the conversing pair’s attention. “Hey, you two! Get down from there; it’s dangerous!”

Hiruzen followed the gaze of the yelling shinobi, spotting two cloaked figures atop the roof of an untouched building. Even as he watched, one of them flickered through handsigns, breathing out a stream of fire and feeding the growing blaze.

Eyes narrowing in anger, Hiruzen performed a jutsu of his own, sending a powerful streak of lightning at the pair. They dodged it effortlessly, leaping into the air. Taking advantage of their airborne state, kunai and shuriken were thrown at them, but the taller of the pair, not the one who had used the Katon jutsu, swung his arm in a slashing motion, causing a gust of wind that blew the projectiles away.

“Who are you and why do you attack Konoha?” Hiruzen demanded when the strangers landed in front of him, instantly knowing that they were dangerous. Despite having over twenty shinobi surrounding them, plus members of the Uchiha Police Force and the _Hokage_ in front of them, the two appeared unconcerned.

But when their hoods fluttered in the wind and were pulled back, revealing their faces, everyone was stunned into silence.

“Y-Yondaime-sama…?”

Bright blond hair illuminated by the blazing fire, framed the taller man’s face, his blue eyes narrowed in a dark glare at the Sandaime. He did not pay any attention to the shocked whispers springing up around him, his razor sharp focus aimed only on the old man in front of him.

“Don’t call me that,” the man who looked just like the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, snapped after a few moments, voice filled with so much disgust that everyone around him flinched and shrunk away. “After what this village did to my children, I’d rather not have been the Hokage at all.”

“W-Wha- Minato?” Hiruzen stuttered, far too out of his depth at the sudden appearance of his successor, having believed that he was dead. “You’re supposed to be dead!”

The man accompanying the blond snorted, drawing attention to him. His looks were also familiar, as if he was someone that Hiruzen should recognize but wasn’t able to put his finger on it. But what he did know was that he belonged to a certain clan in Konoha.

“Way to state the obvious, old man,” the unknown Uchiha remarked drily, dark eyes glaring holes into anyone who had the courage to inch closer. “What’s the next stupid thing that will come out of your mouth, drop the Henge or Genjutsu or whatever?”

Hiruzen startled, immediately berating himself for not considering the possibility that the two men were imposters. He glanced at his subordinates, only to be stumped when a sensor, an Uchiha _and_ a Hyuuga shook their heads at him.

That meant there was no Henge or Genjutsu or any sort of chakra technique used at all.

They were genuine.

“How?”

“A jutsu gone wrong, but right for me, brought me back and Obito never really died in the first place.”

“Obito…Uchiha Obito?!”

If that scarred young man was really Minato’s old student, then the Uchiha features made sense. But also, nothing made sense. Why were people believed dead coming back like this?

“Wait…children?” Hiruzen’s eyes narrowed, mind snagging on something that he knew was a discrepancy. But at the same time, if the two were truly fakes then he would be revealing secret information if he misspoke. “Minato had no children.”

Somehow, the blond’s glare darkened even further. “Are you trying to test me or have you been deluding yourself?” he demanded, swinging his arm through the air as if trying to cut something. There was a powerful blast of wind, rushing through the area and throwing all the Konoha nin off their feet. Even the fire roaring in the background was extinguished.

“You know I have a son,” Minato, for it could be no one else, not with the protective fury of a parent coating his words, snapped. If looks could kill, then everyone in the vicinity would have been reduced to cinders. “And a daughter, who none of you know about, but that’s not the point here, is it?”

The mumbling started up again, everyone glancing uneasily at each other and wondering who the son was, since Minato had implied they knew about him.

“Idiots,” Obito scoffed, rolling his eyes at the sheer stupidity and ignorance of the Konoha villagers, be it shinobi or civilian. “Use that worthless thing in your skulls and _think_ ; there’s one kid who resembles Sensei. Blond hair, blue eyes…ring a bell?”

Prodded along as they were, much to Hiruzen’s chagrin and mounting horror, the crowd finally got it.

“T-The demon!”

The man who had uttered those words froze, finding the signature kunai of the Kiiroi Senko carefully aimed between his eyes and furious blue eyes staring him down.

“Say that again,” Minato snarled, not surprised when the frightened man fell down, merely adjusting his arm so that his kunai was still aimed for a deathblow. “Tell me, what did you just call _my son_?!”

Only unintelligible whimpers were his response and Minato kicked the sniveling man away in disgust, turning around to see Obito dusting off his hands. The Uchiha had just punched another idiot who thought that he could disrespect the child who had borne a heavy burden for Konoha.

“That’s right; the child that you all disdain and abuse, the child that received unwarranted hate from you fools, is my beloved son, mine and Kushina’s,” Minato stated, surprisingly calm for a man who had been threatening to kill someone only seconds ago. “I doubt most of you even know his _name_.”

By that time, the clan heads had arrived, having been alerted by the chaos. They all froze in shock, pinned in place by the murderous glare that was immediately fixed upon them.

“I would have thought that at least our friends would have cared about him.”

The words were spoken in a soft tone, but Minato might as well taken a boulder and slammed them with it. That was how it felt to them, feeling a sharp pain at the hateful but well-deserved accusations thrown at them.

“Minato, I…”

“Save it, Shikaku,” the Namikaze snapped, scrubbing his face with a hand as he made his way to Obito, who immediately took up position at the blond’s back, pointedly ignoring the look of recognition sent his way by the Uchiha Clan head. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“No…but…you mentioned a daughter.”

“My firstborn,” Minato confirmed, expression now a blank mask. “Why would I trust you with her when I couldn’t trust you with my son?”

That earned more flinches, the people’s shoulders sagging under the heavy accusations aimed at them all. They couldn’t even refute it.

_‘If he’s already this angry,’_ Hiruzen thought, hands clenched into fists, _‘how will he react when he finds out that Naruto is missing?’_

Because all of Minato and Obito’s words so far indicated that they knew of the pain and abuse that had been inflicted on the boy, but nothing that said that they knew of his disappearance.

_‘Wait…is it possible that…?’_

“Minato, there’s-”

“Shut up, old man,” Obito interrupted the Sandaime, tone aggressive. “We don’t have any obligation to listen to you or give you answers. Come on, Sensei; let’s go back before the midget decides we would make good targets for kunai practice.”

Minato let out a startled laugh, his cold expression easing into something warmer and fond. “Yeah, she would have likely noticed us leaving. Alright then, let’s go.”

But before they could make a move, there was a commotion to the side and someone tumbled out of the crowd, skidding a little before balancing themselves and dropping to their knees, forehead pressed to the ground.

“Yondaime-sama, if you have any information on Kakashi, please let us know! He disappeared on a mission and I am deeply concerned about him!”

Minato paused, turning around to face the kneeling shinobi. He scratched his cheek, smiling a little at the sincerity in the pleading words.

“Maito Gai, was it?”

“Yes, Yondaime-sama!”

“Kakashi’s fine. He’s coming along with us, though.”

“Saying that he’s ‘fine’ is stretching the truth, Sensei,” Obito scowled, recalling the state he had found his old teammate in. “Bakashi is a suicidal idiot and we’re keeping an eye on him that he doesn’t do something stupid again and keel over.”

Gai started sobbing, yelling his thanks over and over again, making Obito cringe and Minato sweat-drop. Kakashi probably wasn’t wrong when he told them that the spandex-clad Jounin would start crying all over him when he went back after his sudden disappearance. If Gai was already like this, he would probably be worse when he finally saw Kakashi again.

“Thank you, Yondaime-sama!”

Minato’s eyebrow twitched. “I’m not getting rid of that title, am I?”

“What did you expect? The village practically worships you.”

“But I don’t want them to!”

“Try getting that into their tiny brains then.”

The sound of their bickering was cut off when they vanished, likely using the Hiraishin. Left in their wake was a group of scared and bewildered Konoha villagers, none of them moving for quite a while.

Once news of this incident spread, the inevitable chaos that was going to follow was surely going to turn the world upside down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't originally planning to add Gai in there, but he shoved himself in and stayed to cause a little more chaos. XD
> 
> Posted: 08/03/2021


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